The collision of two trams in Strasbourg leaves 68 injured while authorities rule out an intentional act

At least 68 ended up with minor injuries after the head-on collision this past Saturday between two trams that occurred this Saturday in the French city of Strasbourg in what authorities attribute to an accidental event.

The incident, which still left 15 hospitalized, occurred at the Strasbourg Central Station tram stop.

Police sources cited by BFMTV television initially pointed to an error in the needles that caused the crash. Both drivers are uninjured. In a press release issued shortly after, the Strasbourg Transport Company (CTS), as well as the Strasbourg prosecutor, ended up confirming the accident theory.

“The first investigations made it possible to rule out the hypothesis of a voluntary act,” according to Alexandre Chevrier, acting prosecutor. “The investigations, entrusted to the Strasbourg police station, aim to determine the causes of the accident and highlight possible criminal responsibilities,” the prosecutor said in a statement reported by BFMTV.

The Minister of Transport, Philippe Tabarot, has announced that there is “an investigation underway to clarify the circumstances” of the accident.

The mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian, has highlighted the “brutal” nature of the crash. “It was a head-on collision caused by a tram that was going backwards. The investigation will allow us to know the causes of this accident,” he noted.