The TGV train going from Paris to Nantes was halted at the Sablé-sur-Sarthe station, and all of its travellers were evacuated to a sports hall next to the station, staffed by members of the police, firefighters and Red Cross, after reports of a gas-like smell.
According to Le Parisien, several passengers in car 18 began feeling unwell. Some 10 of them were treated for ‘symptoms of irritation’, after the train was halted, local authorities said.
“Investigations are underway to determine the cause of the irritation,” a préfecture spokesperson told AFP on Thursday, without giving further details.
The source of the smell was identified as a toilet in one of the carriages, according to French train operator SNCF which informed travellers that the standstill was due to an ‘act of vandalism on the train’.
An SNCF spokeswoman said emergency services – some of them specialists in chemical risk, according to reports from regional newspaper Ouest France – were called to the scene to ‘carry out immediate checks’.
Travellers returned to the train to continue their journey after a five-hour delay while checks were carried out.
No harmful substance was found, according to the prefecture.
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