Two soldiers died after their vehicle was violently struck by a train near Arras in Pas-de-Calais. Other people are injured, including one who is in serious condition.
Two soldiers died this Monday, March 17 in the Bailleul-Sire-Berthoult sector on Monday, March 17, near Arras in Pas-de-Calais. The soldiers were on board a service vehicle which was struck by a TER at a level crossing according to information from the Ministry of the Armed Forces Bfmtv and those of La Voix du Nord. The facts occurred around 11 a.m.
The military vehicle, of 4×4 type, was struck by the train before colliding with a housing facade and a catenary. Two soldiers died in the impact and a third person present in the vehicle would be in a very serious state according to La Voix du Nord. The military car carried people mobilized as part of a sentry operation. In the TER, which transported more than a hundred people according to estimates, two young women aged 20 and 32 were slightly injured by the glass ends of a window that broke in shock added the voice of the North. They were transported to the Arras hospital center. The driver, in shock, was also taken care of.
Around 1 p.m., the train passengers had finished being evacuated and were renewed at Arras station by two buses. Regarding the victims inside the military 4×4, they must be unearthed this afternoon. A drone and a cynophile team are mobilized for recognition operation.
After the fatal accident on the level crossing, rail traffic was interrupted in both directions on the line between Lens and Arras. The gradual resumption of traffic is expected around 18 hours according to a SNCF press release. The transport company sent its “thoughts to the victims of this road accident and our travelers who were on the train”.
The accident will raise several questions, notably on the course of the facts: were the barriers of the level crossing lowered at the time of the facts? The responsibility of the train driver and the vehicle driver will be questioned. According to a witness heard by La Voix du Nord, “the barriers [du passage à niveau] were lowered at the time of the collision. “A resident living near the railway lane said that he had heard” the horn train to say that there was a problem and then suddenly we heard a big ‘boom’. We heard the passengers screaming, so we went to see. We saw the vehicle, the engine out of the car and the soldiers inside. “In June 2024, another fatal accident took place: a man died struck by a train.
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16:59 – A previous collision in level passage
The fatal accident having taken place at a level crossing, several questions will arise on the course of the facts: were the barriers lowered or not? Were the car driver or that of the train wrong? A witness interviewed by La Voix du Nord says he saw the barriers down before the collision. A resident living near the railroad, said he heard “the horny train to say that there was a problem” before hearing “a big ‘boom'”.
This level passage, located in Bailleul-Sire-Berthoult, had already been the scene of a deadly collision between a train and a car in June 2024. A man had lost his life in the drama.
4:10 pm – The driver of the train in shock
The deadly collision on the level crossing in Pas-de-Calais has injured, in addition to the two deceased soldiers. According to information from La Voix du Nord, a third soldier is in serious condition. Other people, train passengers, were also injured. The pieces of a window having broken in the impact affected two women aged 20 and 32 according to the local newspaper. Some witnesses are physically unscathed, but in shock as the driver of the train.