Train Derails In French Alps, Killing Two

Tourist train was struck by a boulder the size of a car

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A tourist train derailed Saturday in the southern French Alps after being struck by a falling boulder, killing two people and injuring at least nine.

The train had 34 people on board and was traveling at altitudes of up to 3,200ft above sea level, making its way from Nice to the town of Digne-les-Bains, reports the BBC. Firefighters and authorities had difficulty reaching the scene of the accident due to heavy snow and the isolated location of the wreck. One of the dead was a Russian woman, said local authorities, while the other was an Alpine resident.

“A rock the size of a car came off the mountainside and slammed into the first car of the train,” said a local mayor, the BBC reports. Train tracks in the Alps regularly receive snow and rockfalls but are usually considered safe in the winter.

[BBC]