Six people either crushed to death or electrocuted in French rail crash horror as train smashes into platform south of Paris
- Intercity train carrying 385 passengers was travelling to the city of Limoges
- It derailed onto its side in train station at about 3.15pm GMT
- Rescue workers desperately battled to free passengers trapped inside train
- Nine passengers believed to be seriously injured
- 'It is apocalyptic’ said Mayor of Bretigny
- President Francois Hollande going to the scene of the accident
- Officials warn numbers of dead likely to increase
By ANTHONY BOND and PETER ALLEN
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Six people have been killed and nine seriously injured after a packed passenger train derailed south of Paris this evening.
The high speed intercity train was travelling from the French capital to the city of Limoges when it derailed onto its side in a train station in the suburb of Bretigny-sur-Orge at about 3.15pm GMT.
The accident has left six people dead, with the victims being crushed to death or electrocuted.
Rescue workers desperately battled to free people still trapped inside the train, which was carrying 385 passengers - including some Britons.
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Tragedy: Six people have been killed and nine seriously injured after a packed passenger train derailed south of Paris this evening
Mangled: The platform roof and derailed train cars are pictured at the site of the accident
Horrific: An intercity train carrying 385 passengers, traveling from Paris towards Limoges, derailed crashing into a station platform leaving six people dead and a further 26 injured
Disaster: The seven carriage train split in two and then buckled
Many passengers desperately scrambled to safety after smashing windows and crawling out while covered in glass and other debris.
Englishman Graham Hope suffered a head injury, saying: ‘The train just started to rock up and down like a bucking bronco and the next thing we hit the station itself.
'The train bounced up and down dramatically for several seconds.’
The seven carriage train, which ‘split in two’ and then 'buckled', said Mr Hope.
Help: An elderly woman and her grandson are taken care of outside the train station of Bretigny-sur-Orge
Injured: Victims were kept wrapped under thermal blankets
Lucky: A survivor of the train crash wrapped in a rescue blanket talks to a rescue worker
Visit: French president Francois Hollande, centre, speaks to the press on the site of the train accident
Listening: Hollande speaks with victims on the site of a train accident
John Paul Martial, who lives opposite the station, said: ‘I heard like a big loud noise, coupled with a great shock, like an earthquake.
‘When I looked, there was a huge plume of smoke billowing above the rails. I was listening to the radio then I realised what had happened.’
Horrific pictures from the scene showed that the train had ploughed into the commuter station, with its carriages partly demolishing a platform.
Bazgua El Mehdi, 19, said: ‘I heard a loud noise and then a cloud of debris covered everything. Then I saw people getting off.
Accident: Six people have been killed and scores injured after a packed passenger train derailed south of Paris this evening
Wreckage: Passengers waiting on one of the platforms look on in shock as rescue workers race to help the victims
Awful: The high speed intercity train derailed onto its side in a train station in the suburb of Bretigny-sur-Orge. This picture shows an injured man being dragged from the mangled wreckage
'One man had was barely conscious, with a bad wound to his head.’
Eyewitness Frederic said he ‘heard the screams’ of passengers caught up in the twisted metal.
The computer programmer, who lives in a building opposite the entrance to the station with his wife Christine, said: ‘We heard a deafening barrage in two stages, first the sound of train wheels that scrape the ballast then a loud crackling of metal.
Frightening: The speeding train split into two and derailed at the station
Desperate: Rescue workers are now desperately battling to free passengers still trapped inside the train
Mess: The Mayor of Bretigny said the scene was apocalyptic
Horror: Eyewitnesses say the seven carriage train split in two and buckled
Help: Rescue workers arrive on the site of the accident
'Large ballast stones were thrown about ten feet around, falling on adjacent streets. Even our building shook.
‘From my balcony, I saw a cloud of dust rising, then I saw the carnage. I didn’t see any bodies, but I heard the screams.
People could be seen running - fleeing from the station.’
Horror: The train derailed in Bretigny-sur-Orge, close to Paris, while travelling to Limoges
Nasty: This aerial image shows how the train ploughed through one of the platforms at the station
Shock: Eyewitnesses reported hearing a loud noise before seeing a cloud of debris
Mayor of Bretigny, Bernard Decaux, added: ‘Three carriages are entangled with each other in front of the station, with another one lying a little further to the south.
'I have no idea of how many casualties but it may be very high. It is apocalyptic.’
Reports from France have said President Francois Hollande is going to the scene of the accident this evening.
Jean-Paul Boulet, from France's national railway, said the train was carrying 350 passengers when it derailed at 3.15pm GMT and crashed into the station.
Four of the train’s seven cars are still lying by the side of the platform, with hundreds still inside them.
A spokesman for the Paris prefect's office said a ‘red alert’ plan had been activated.
Derailed: A wagon of the train can be seen on its side in railway station . French President Francois Hollande is believed to be going to the scene of the accident
Panic: One of the carriages can be seen lying on its side as workers desperately race to the scene of the crash
Crash: A derailed wagon on the site of the train accident is pictured
A police spokesman added: 'The train arrived at the station at high speed. It split into two for a reason still unknown and one part of the train kept going while another fell onto its side.'
Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the numbers confirmed dead was expected to increase.
'The death toll is evolving constantly at this point and unfortunately it will probably rise,' Valls said.
Tragic: The numbers of people confirmed dead is expected to increase
Response: Ambulances are pictured in front of the railway station of Bretigny-sur-Orge
'At this stage there are seven people dead, several dozen wounded and some of them are serious.'
A spokesman for the British embassy in France said no UK nationals are thought to be among the victims.
It is a national holiday weekend in France because of Bastille Day on Sunday, meaning many families heading down south with children.
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