Rescuers work at the site of derailed train in a railway station in Bretigny-sur-Orge, south of Paris, on July 12, 2013. Up to six people have been killed after a train derailed in a Paris suburb on Friday afternoon. (Xinhua/Li Genxing) |
PARIS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- President of French national railway company (SNCF) said on Saturday that faulty switch part may have caused the train derailment when it was heading from Paris to the central French city of Limoges.
At a press conference held on Saturday morning, President of the SNCF Guillaume Pepy, together with other group directors, explained the disaster occurred at Bretigny-sur-Orge station.
Initial investigations suggest a "fishplate" or joint bar that bolted two rails together on a track become detached, said Pierre Izard, SNCF's general director of infrastructure.
The rail company has ordered to check around 5,000 similar devices on the network.
The crash occurred on Friday evening when a train passing the station, derailed and hit the platform at the Bretigny-sur-Orge station, in the south of Paris.
At least six people were killed and 30 were injured with nine in serious conditions after four carriages went off the tracks with three overturned.
On Saturday morning, France's transport minister said human error was unlikely to be the cause of the derailment and the inquiry would focus on infrastructure and signalling.
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