French authorities are investigating the possibility of sabotage after a regional train derailed in Normandy on Friday evening, injuring 44 people. The train, carrying 186 passengers from Rouen to Caen, went off the tracks in Cléon, in the Seine-Maritime department.
Investigators found a piece of rail on the track, which police say is "probably" linked to the derailment. Officials are working to determine whether the incident was accidental or deliberate. The prosecutor's office has urged caution while drawing conclusions.
Among those injured was an 18-year-old woman who was airlifted to Rouen University Hospital. This incident brings to mind previous rail disasters in France, including the 2013 derailment at Brétigny-sur-Orge that resulted in seven deaths, and the 2015 crash of a TGV test train near Strasbourg that killed 11 people. In January, a crash involving two high-speed trains in southern Spain killed 46 people and injured over 100.