‘Light smoke’ forces evacuation of train carrying E.U. officials in France

Passengers including European Parliament officials were evacuated from a train departing from the eastern French city of Strasbourg after “light smoke” emerged from the train, local authorities said Thursday.

Around 20 firefighters were deployed to the busy station at 2:45 p.m. local time, according to the Bas-Rhin firefighters’ office. It added that a section of the train had been reserved for European parliamentary officials. No injuries were reported and the cause of the smoke was not immediately known.

Pelle Geertsen, a Danish official in the Left group, described the evacuation as “chaotic” in a post on the social media platform X.

The evacuation of the train from Strasbourg to Brussels — both homes to the European Parliament — caused disruption to rail traffic in the region. France’s national railway, SNCF, confirmed that the incident would affect trains along the eastern line until Thursday evening, according to a post on X.

Around 4:50 p.m. local time, the train was set to resume its journey and leave the station, SNCF said.

The European Parliament operates in both Strasbourg, where its plenary sessions are held, and Brussels, which serves as its administrative and committee headquarters.

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