Saint-Charles station in Marseille was blocked for more than an hour Tuesday evening after “a big police intervention” in a TGV from Nancy, according to a controller of another train, other passengers evoking an “attack alert”.
According to the Prefecture of Police of Bouches-du-Rhône, “an individual was arrested” on board the train but “there was no use of weapons and no injuries”.
“Big police intervention”
The police were “alerted to an individual likely to commit a malicious act” on board this TGV. From the same source, this individual, after his arrest, allegedly said that there was “a second person” on board the train.
“We were informed of a major police intervention in a train coming from Nancy, they were looking for someone”, testified to AFP the controller of a TGV connecting Paris to Marseille, while the Saint station -Charles was reopened to travelers and the public shortly before 10 p.m.
Their train had been blocked for a long time before its arrival in the Marseille city, after having passed Aix-en-Provence, said this SNCF employee.
400 to 500 passengers affected
Malo, 22, boarded another train from Montpellier, also said that the train had been blocked in the middle of the track, before its arrival in Marseille: “We were informed that there were two fanatics who attempted a attempted attack, “said this student, accompanied by a comrade.
“We were told that there were two madmen in a train and an attack alert,” added François, a native of Agen, on board the same train that left Bordeaux.
The Saint-Charles station was finally blocked for more than an hour, between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. About ten fire-fighting vehicles, including at least one ambulance, were dispatched to the scene.
In total, between 400 and 500 passengers on board different trains were affected by this incident, according to Cyrille Durand, spokesperson for SNCF Voyageurs in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, who declined to comment on details of this event.
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