A high-speed train carrying several hundred passengers derailed after colliding with a lorry in northern France, French media reported on Tuesday.
The driver of the TGV train was killed and 27 passengers were injured, according to preliminary police information cited by broadcaster TF1.
French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot announced that he would travel to the scene of the accident between the towns of Béthune and Lens in the Pas-de-Calais region together with rail chief Jean Castex.
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The crash happened at a level crossing in the town of Nœux-les-Mines, outside the French high-speed network. The TGV was travelling at the speed of a regular train.
Newspaper La Voix du Nord (The Voice of the North) reported that the train collided with the trailer of a lorry transporting army vehicles.
Photos shared by an official from the rail union showed the train’s generator car badly damaged and off the tracks. The union official said that only a week earlier a heavy army transport had become stuck at a level crossing.