Confuzzled
05-04-2007, 11:48
Seventy-one people have been lightly injured after a commuter train hit the buffers as it pulled into one of Paris's main railway stations.
The accident took place at the Gare de l'Est at around 0830 (0630 GMT) during the morning rush hour.
The train was travelling at low speed, but a number of people were thrown to the floor on impact, passengers said.
France's Transport Minister Dominique Perben has called for an investigation into the accident.
Some 58 people were taken to a dozen hospitals in the capital for treatment, the Paris fire service said.
Most of the passengers treated had sustained bruising in the collision.
"The shock was very strong" and "threw several people to the floor as passengers had got up to get off more quickly as the train was already running late," one passenger told the AFP news agency.
The train driver is being questioned by police on the circumstances of the accident, a police source told AFP.
There will be two inquiries into the accident - one judicial conducted by the police, the other looking into the technical causes of the accident.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42768000/jpg/_42768929_train_203body_afp.jpg
Rail hub
The nine-car train was said to be carrying around 600 people.
A spokesman for state-owned rail firm SNCF earlier said such incidents happened "from time to time", adding the train had "hit the buffer a bit roughly".
An emergency operation was put in place with firefighters and rescue officials being sent to the station.
The accident caused disruption and delays for other suburban rail services to the Gare de l'Est, a major hub for trains from the eastern outskirts of Paris.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6528821.stm
The accident took place at the Gare de l'Est at around 0830 (0630 GMT) during the morning rush hour.
The train was travelling at low speed, but a number of people were thrown to the floor on impact, passengers said.
France's Transport Minister Dominique Perben has called for an investigation into the accident.
Some 58 people were taken to a dozen hospitals in the capital for treatment, the Paris fire service said.
Most of the passengers treated had sustained bruising in the collision.
"The shock was very strong" and "threw several people to the floor as passengers had got up to get off more quickly as the train was already running late," one passenger told the AFP news agency.
The train driver is being questioned by police on the circumstances of the accident, a police source told AFP.
There will be two inquiries into the accident - one judicial conducted by the police, the other looking into the technical causes of the accident.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42768000/jpg/_42768929_train_203body_afp.jpg
Rail hub
The nine-car train was said to be carrying around 600 people.
A spokesman for state-owned rail firm SNCF earlier said such incidents happened "from time to time", adding the train had "hit the buffer a bit roughly".
An emergency operation was put in place with firefighters and rescue officials being sent to the station.
The accident caused disruption and delays for other suburban rail services to the Gare de l'Est, a major hub for trains from the eastern outskirts of Paris.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6528821.stm