A Russian national and a local French national have so far been confirmed as dead after a tourist train serving Nice and Digne-les-Bains was derailed by a rock fall. The incident happened this morning at about 11:00 in the section between the towns of Annot and Saint-Benoît.
According to rescue services at the scene, nine other passengers were injured, including one who is described as being in a “very serious condition” by Interior Minister Manuel Valls. One of the victims is said to have been thrown from the carriage and all remaining passengers (about thirty of them) were evacuated after the accident.
“A rock accidentally fell on the train, hitting the first carriage,” confirmed the Digne magistrate Stéphane Kellenberger, talking to reporters. Photos from Nice Matin newspaper show the carriage in question hanging dangerously over the edge in snow-bound part of the line that’s about 1,000m above sea level.