Commuter Train Crash At Paris Station

PARIS (AP) _ A suburban commuter train struck a buffer at the end of the tracks at Paris' Gare de l'Est station during the morning rush hour Thursday, and 58 people suffered minor injuries, railway

Thursday, April 5th 2007, 7:48 am

By: News On 6

PARIS (AP) _ A suburban commuter train struck a buffer at the end of the tracks at Paris' Gare de l'Est station during the morning rush hour Thursday, and 58 people suffered minor injuries, railway officials said.

The train, which originated in the eastern Paris suburb of Chateau-Thierry, hit the buffer at about 6 mph, an SNCF railway official said. The official declined to give his name because of railway policy.

Officials said 58 people were treated for minor injuries, with the most serious being a broken nose.

Firefighters were dispatched to the station, a major transport hub in the east of the French capital with connections to Germany and other European points, and authorities put an emergency response plan into effect.

It was not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard, but the official said such commuter trains can carry up to 1,000 people.

The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, and the train's engineer was being questioned, judicial officials said.