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| French Alps: Rock derails Nice to Digne-les-Bains train | French Alps: Rock derails Nice to Digne-les-Bains train |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Two people were killed when a falling boulder derailed a tourist train in the southern French Alps, local officials and firefighters say. | Two people were killed when a falling boulder derailed a tourist train in the southern French Alps, local officials and firefighters say. |
| At least nine people were injured. | At least nine people were injured. |
| The train was travelling from Nice to the town of Digne-les-Bains on a line which crosses gorges and viaducts at up to 1,000m (3,200ft) above sea level. | The train was travelling from Nice to the town of Digne-les-Bains on a line which crosses gorges and viaducts at up to 1,000m (3,200ft) above sea level. |
| Images from the scene show the two-carriage train dangling from the tracks, the side of one carriage caved in by the rock. | Images from the scene show the two-carriage train dangling from the tracks, the side of one carriage caved in by the rock. |
| Local prosecutor Stephane Kellenberger told AFP news agency that one of the dead was a Russian woman, while the other victim came from the Alps region. | |
| One of the injured is said to be in a critical condition, while the others, including the driver, are reported to have sustained lighter injuries. | One of the injured is said to be in a critical condition, while the others, including the driver, are reported to have sustained lighter injuries. |
| "A rock the size of a car came off the mountainside and slammed into the first car of the train,'' Jean Ballester, mayor of nearby Annot, told BFM television. | |
| There were a total of 34 people on board at the time of the accident, AFP news agency reports. | There were a total of 34 people on board at the time of the accident, AFP news agency reports. |
| The agency adds that a total of 110 firefighters and 32 vehicles were deployed from around the region, as well as two helicopters. | The agency adds that a total of 110 firefighters and 32 vehicles were deployed from around the region, as well as two helicopters. |
| They are said to have encountered difficulties in reaching the accident because of heavy snow and the isolated location. | They are said to have encountered difficulties in reaching the accident because of heavy snow and the isolated location. |
| The train travels on track that regularly receives snow and rockfalls, but regional transport official Jean-Yves Petit said that even in winter it is considered safe. | |