Light rail collision in Paris suburb injures 12

[NANTERRE, France] A rare light rail collision in a southwestern suburb of Paris on Monday evening left 12 people injured, one of them seriously, the fire brigade said.

It was not known what caused the accident which took place between two stations in Issy-les-Moulineaux just after 9pm (2000 GMT), a spokesman for Paris transport operator RATP told AFP.

"Two vehicles collided with passengers on board. It appears that the one in front was stationary and the other crashed into it from behind," causing the first tram to derail, the spokesman said.

One of the victims was in a critical condition, while 11 others were less seriously injured, a fire service spokesman said after the rescue operation had finished.

Accidents are very rare on the busy suburban tramline, which was opened two decades ago.

AFP