The truck driver was taken into police custody after the train, which was traveling from the northern city of Dunkirk to Paris and carrying 243 people, collided with the vehicle at a level crossing in the town of Bully-les-Mines, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
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The impact was so strong that the military vehicle weighing several dozen metric tons that was aboard the truck was sent flying about 10 meters, landing near a private garden. The 56-year-old train driver, described by officials as an experienced professional, died instantly, said local prosecutor Etienne Thieffry.
Two people were badly injured, although their lives were not in danger, Thieffry said. Fourteen others sustained less-serious injuries. The collision occurred at 6:48 am local time when the train was moving at an estimated speed of 160 kilometers per hour.
The train continued for several hundred meters before coming to a halt on the tracks, regional prefect François-Xavier Lauch told reporters.
