A TER struck four people on Tuesday, October 12 in Ciboure (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), near the Saint-Jean-de-Luz station, causing three victims and one seriously injured. Here is what we know about this tragedy after the press briefing of the public prosecutor of Bayonne.
A collision very early in the morning
The collision took place around 5:00 a.m. The victims, lying on the rails for a still unknown reason, were struck “in the town of Ciboure, a few hundred meters from the station of Saint-Jean-de-Luz”, as confirmed by Jérôme Bourrier, the public prosecutor of Bayonne.
3 dead, one seriously injured
The TER struck four people, three of whom died instantly. The fourth man, aged 28, was seriously injured but his prognosis is no longer engaged according to the magistrate in charge of the case. Severely affected in the abdomen and lower limbs, he was taken care of by the emergency services before being transported to the Bayonne hospital center, where a pelvic fracture was detected.
The 4 victims are said to be of Algerian nationality
The public prosecutor of Bayonne assured that “obviously, all the victims would be of Algerian nationality”. He also indicated that “three of them were the subject of proceedings for the irregularity of their stay on Spanish territory”.
21-year-old man identified with certainty
“At this time, only one deceased person is identified with certainty: it is a young man of 21 years”, detailed Jérôme Bourrier. The victim was formally recognized thanks to the coordinated work of the French and Spanish police since the fingerprints found at the scene of the tragedy correspond with those present in the expulsion file from Spanish territory.
An inevitable accident according to the survey
Led by the Saint-Jean-de-Luz police station and the Bayonne judicial police, the flagrance investigation is underway. It is primarily interested in “the exploitation of the graphic bands of the locomotive, which corresponds to the black box of the train”, as assured the prosecutor.
Despite the lack of evidence at this stage of the investigation, the collision between the train and the four men seemed inevitable. “Given the circumstances of this tragedy, it was absolutely impossible to avoid the impact between the TER train and the victims found on the scene,” explained Jérôme Bourrier during the press briefing held at 4 pm on Tuesday.
The line between Irun (Spain) and Saint-Jean-de-Luz is frequently used by refugees. It would be more discreet compared to other traffic axes.