French train hits tree downed by thunderstorms at 90MPH, leaving at least 60 injured in Montpellier
Eight people left with serious injuries with one person thrown from the train after it collides with tree on tracks
AT LEAST two people are in a serious condition with another 60 injured after a high-speed train collided with a tree on the tracks in southern France.
The TER, going at speeds of 90miles per hour, hit a tree that had fallen on the tracks during heavy thunderstorms in Saint-Aunès, east of Montpellier.
Sixty people have been injured with eight left in a serious condition, including a man who was thrown from the train and flown to hospital.
A local emergency services spokesman said: "There was a storm with masses of hail, rain and high winds.
"A large tree was dislodged and then collapsed in the path of an oncoming train, causing a great deal of damage."
The incident, which occurred while the train was reportedly battered by heavy rain, took place on a line between the towns of Nimes and Montpellier about 4pm.
The train was travelling about 90 miles an hour when it collided with the tree, .
About 200 people had been on the train at the time of the incident with 70 fire fighters and 40 emergency vehicles heading to the scene.
The entire region around Montpellier, which is very popular with British holidaymakers during the summer months, had been battered by violent hailstorms.
Arthur Bechilly, who was traveling on the TER service, told Midi Libre newspaper the weather "changed quite suddenly" and "hail began to fall".
"We felt a jerk that came from the front of the train. Not much, but very quickly we knew that the situation was serious."
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Mr Bechilly said he saw windows caving in, and the wounded being evacuated.
The train was just 10 minutes out of Montpellier station, and was heading towards Nimes.
Pictures taken by passengers and posted on social media showed extensive damage to at least one carriage and broken glass strewn across the floor.
One passenger, Aurore, took to Twitter to share photos and her shock after the horrific crash.The young woman said the photos did not show the true impact of the crash.
She wrote: "It was a tree that totally smashed the train.
"The train was not full but there were still people, I'm not sure how many.
"I posted a picture but you can't really understand the magnitude of the shock."
Paramedic Captain Mercier confirmed that one passenger had been critically injured with a dozen badly hurt and another 50 suffering minor injuries.
Images of the scene show the remains of the tree on the track, with the huge branches covering the tracks.
Buses have now been brought in to take passengers back to Montpellier.
Train tracks have been closed in both directions with the Red Cross called in.
In November, ten people were killed after a French high-speed train derailed during a test run.
It was the first fatal accident since the TGV trains were introduced more than 30 years ago.
The victims were among the team of 49 technicians aboard the train. There were no other passengers.
The train was running at around 217 mph on a high-speed line as part of testing for the next generation of TGV due to go into service in Spring 2016.
Previously the worst train accident in France in recent years occurred in July 2013 when a commuter train derailed in a Paris suburb killing seven people and injuring dozens more.
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