Dozens of people have been injured after two trams collided in a “brutal collision” in France.
The vehicles collided in a tunnel leading to the station near the city's central train station on Saturday afternoon.
An additional 100 people, though uninjured, were assessed for shock or stress, said Rene Cellier, director of the Bas-Rhin Fire and Rescue Service.
Emergency services deployed 130 firefighters, 50 rescue vehicles and established a wide safety perimeter.
"Around fifty people are in a state of relative emergency, with injuries such as scalp wounds, clavicle fractures and knee sprains. But there are no critical injuries. It could have been much worse," Cellier said.
The exact cause of the collision was unclear but local media reported that one of the trams was reversing at the time.
Mayor Jeanne Barseghian, who visited the site, described the incident as a "brutal collision" and expressed her gratitude to emergency responders.
"I am at the station with the injured and rescuers. Thank you for your mobilization," she said on X.
She urged the public not to obstruct rescue operations. Images shared on social media showed two severely damaged tram cars, one of which had derailed in the tunnel.
Strasbourg, the first major French city to reinstate tram services in 1994, had not experienced a significant tram accident until now, according to French media.
Authorities launched an investigation to determine what caused the collision. Cleanup operations continued Saturday evening, and residents were advised to avoid the area around the train station. In a post on x, French police warned: “Tram traffic interrupted in both directions at Strasbourg station following a tram accident.”
Pierre Jakubowicz, a municipal councillor in Strasbourg, posted: “Major tram collision at Strasbourg station. Support and recognition for the emergency services mobilised and all my thoughts for the injured.”
Social media footage appears to show people trying to pull the doors of a tram open as smoke fills an underground station following the accident.
Officials in Strasbourg later added that a tram accident had taken place at the Gare Centrale stop in the city. It added that “numerous resources” had been sent to the scene and told passengers to avoid Place des Halles, Gare, Boulevard du Président Wilson.
