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France/Great EastA cat helped identify two people who were hit by a train
BERNOLSHIEM – According to the first findings, the victims deliberately threw themselves onto the tracks. It was the microchip of their animal, found nearby, that made it possible to identify them.
The two victims were caught by a TER on Sunday evening in Bas-Rhin. They were dead when the ambulance crew arrived at the scene.
Illustrative photo/AFP
Two people, probably a man and his mother, who ended their lives, were fatally hit by a TER on Sunday evening in Bernolsheim (Bas-Rhin), we learned on Monday from the firefighters and the Strasbourg prosecutor’s office. . The tragedy occurred around 8:30 p.m., according to the fire and rescue service. “The two victims were dead when help arrived,” the firefighters said.
The accident happened “on the edge of the forest”, said Jean-Marc Dierse, mayor of Bernolsheim. “It’s a place where there’s no barrier, but there’s no way you really have to want to go there,” he added, suggesting the hypothesis of a suicide could be considered. According to the public prosecutor’s office in Strasbourg, it is indeed this clue that seems to be emerging: it is probably a man and his mother, identified thanks to a “chipped cat” found near the tragedy.
Two resignation letters
Initially, firefighters had identified the victims as “a man in his forties” and a “person whose age and gender” could not be “defined.” According to the regional daily The Latest News from Alsace, the two victims are a 50-year-old man and his 83-year-old mother who live together in Strasbourg.
Two letters were found in their home stating their desire to end it, with the mother specifically explaining that she was “sick,” according to prosecutors. However, a DNA examination was conducted to formally confirm their identity, it was clarified. None of the 118 passengers were injured, according to SNCF, which specifies that they were taken care of on buses. A police investigation has been opened.
(AFP)