Seven people reportedly killed in train crash near Paris

PARIS: At least seven people reportedly have been killed and dozens injured in a train derailment outside Paris.

A spokesman for the SNCF, the country’s national rail company, told Reuters the train was transporting passengers from Paris to Limoges when it derailed near Bretigny-sur-Orge, about 20 miles south of Paris during the height of Friday’s rush hour.

The train was reportedly carrying 350 passengers, and there were reports that it split in two as it was coming into the station. French transportation officials had reportedly declared a “code red”—meaning an accident in which “many people are victims.”

France 24, citing local media reports, said that passengers remained trapped on the train and that some victims had been electrocuted and crushed. There were conflicting reports as to exactly how many people had been killed.

“The death toll is evolving constantly at this point and unfortunately it will probably rise,” French Interior Minister Manuel Valls told Reuters. “At this stage there are seven people dead, several dozen wounded and some of them are serious.”

Several images posted on Le Monde showed several train cars toppled and crashed near the station.