At least six killed in French train derailment

09:45, 13 July 2013

PARIS, July 13. KAZINFORM - At least six people were killed and dozens were injured after a train derailed south of Paris on Friday afternoon, according to XINHUA.

The train, heading from Paris to the central French city of Limoges, derailed and hit the platform at the Bretigny-sur-Orge station, about 25 km south of Paris at about 5:15 p.m. (1515 GMT).

According to the national rail operator SNCF, 370 people were on board the train and six carriages of it had derailed.

President Francois Hollande had rushed to the scene and pledged to conduct three separate investigations into the cause of the accident: one by police, one by the transport ministry and one by the SNCF.

"We should avoid unnecessary speculation, what happened will eventually be known and the proper conclusions will be drawn," Hollande said.

Rescue operations were still underway. Interior Minister Manuel Valls said the death toll could rise.

It was the country's worst train accident since 1988, when a crash at Gare de Lyon station in Paris killed 56 people.

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