Driver killed, 16 injured after train hits truck carrying army vehicles in France

The driver of a French high-speed train was killed when it struck the trailer of a truck carrying army vehicles at a railroad crossing in northern France, according to officials. Sixteen other people were injured.

The crash happened at 6:48 a.m. Tuesday near Bully-les-Mines in the Pas-de-Calais region, west of Lille, when the Dunkirk-to-Paris train hit the trailer of a truck transporting French army vehicles at a crossing near Mazingarbe. Authorities said 246 passengers were on board.

Local newspaper La Voix du Nord identified the train driver as Claudio di Maggio, a father who was nearing retirement.

Sixteen other people were injured in the crash. Philippe Tabarot, France’s transport minister, said two of them were initially in critical condition, but both had improved by Tuesday afternoon and were no longer considered to be in immediate danger.

Authorities placed the truck driver, a 30-year-old Polish man, in police custody. Officials have not said what caused the crash, but early findings from the investigation indicated the crossing barriers were working properly.

“It is with great emotion that we learned of the death of one of our drivers in the tragic collision between a TGV and a convoy of military equipment, this morning,” railway operator SNCF said in a statement. “The death of our colleague is a trial that deeply affects the entire rail family.”

An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances and cause of the crash.