A train driver has been killed and more than a dozen people injured after a French high-speed passenger train crashed into a truck carrying military equipment on Tuesday.
The TGV, travelling from Dunkirk to Paris, was carrying more than 240 passengers when it collided with a lorry transporting an armoured vehicle at a level crossing in the northern French region of Pas-de-Calais, according to local officials.
Sixteen people were injured, two badly, the local prefecture said. Etienne Thieffry, the local prosecutor, later said the lives of those who had been badly hurt were not in danger.
The incident happened at a crossing in Bully-les-Mines shortly before 7am local time, according to SNCF, the rail operator.
The impact of the collision was so strong that the military vehicle weighing several dozen tonnes that was aboard the truck was sent flying about 10 metres, landing near a private garden.
The train continued for several hundred metres before coming to a halt on the tracks, Francois-Xavier Lauch, the regional prefect, told reporters.
The TGV was carrying more than 240 passengers when it collided with a lorry transporting a 40-ton military cargo – Sameer Al-Doumy/Getty
French media reported that the civilian truck was transporting an armoured amphibious vehicle that can deploy floating bridges or ferries for tanks and other armoured vehicles that need to cross water.
The cargo, weighing more than 40 tons, was being transported on behalf of the French army, it added.
The lorry driver was in police custody on suspicion of manslaughter, prosecutors said.
Photographs of the scene of the crash posted on X by Fabien Villedieu, of the Sud Rail trade union, showed emergency services inspecting the twisted front of the wrecked TGV and the damage to the lorry.
Philippe Tabarot, the French transport minister, and the head of the SNCF are expected to provide further details on the circumstances of the crash to the press later on Tuesday.
In France, high-speed rail line accidents are rare compared with traditional railways. The first high-speed train in France shattered world speed records when it came into service in 1981.
The first generation of the TGV reached a top speed of 380km (236 miles) per hour, significantly cutting the journey time between Paris and other French cities.
The technology, lauded as the best of French engineering and industrial prowess, was later exported to other countries, including Spain, the US and Italy.