Tragic Train Collision in France Claims Driver's Life

A train driver has died after his high-speed passenger train collided with a lorry carrying military equipment at a level crossing in France.

A number of injuries have also been reported following the incident, which took place on Tuesday morning between Béthune and Lens in the north-western Pas-de-Calais region.

Two people were critically injured while 11 others sustained minor injuries, French media reports.

The region's President, Xavier Bertrand, confirmed the death of the TGV driver and described the accident as a terrible tragedy. My thoughts are with his family, his loved ones and all the staff at who are mourning his loss, he wrote on social media.

French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot stated he was heading to the scene, along with the head of France's state-owned rail operator SNCF. Tabarot mentioned that the incident involved a heavy goods vehicle, which news outlets have identified as a truck transporting military equipment.

The collision occurred shortly before 07:00 local time (05:00 GMT), as the train was traveling from Dunkirk to Paris.

The regional rail network, TER Hauts-de-France, announced that traffic between Béthune and Lens would be disrupted until mid-morning, with services gradually resuming.

The BBC has reached out to SNCF for comment, as the company's CEO, Jean Castex, has not yet issued a public statement.

Rail union SUD-Rail has called for total transparency regarding the incident. This collision comes less than two weeks after another incident in the south-eastern Var region resulted in a fatality due to a train-truck collision.

Collisions at level crossings in France are relatively rare but occur more frequently than in the UK. Recent statistics indicated 89 collisions causing 20 deaths in France in 2024, compared to only six in the UK. Over 100 annual collisions were recorded in the years prior.