SAINT-DALMAS DE TENDE, France (AP) -- French and Italian passenger trains collided head-on in an Alpine tunnel in southeast France on Monday, killing two people and injuring four seriously.
French authorities said the two trains slammed into each other in the Biona Tunnel near the Italian border at 11:15 a.m., throwing passengers to the floor and causing their suitcases to tumble down from overhead bins. Some passengers were in shock or had light injuries.
``Everywhere, people were screaming,'' said Paolo Branconi, a passenger in the Italian train. ``Three people managed to get out of the car and call for help.''
The confined area of the crash site made rescue operations difficult, said Jean-Paul Boulet of the French railway authority, SNCF.
About 150 rescue workers were on the scene, and four helicopters were flying overhead to render assistance. Italian authorities contributed a helicopter and ambulances to the effort.
Passengers from both trains were taken to a community center in the nearby village of Saint-Dalmas de Tende, where police handed out food and drinks. Many passengers were waiting for buses to return them to Italy.
A statement from the regional prefecture said two people had been killed, and four seriously injured, but it did not identify them. Italy's AGI news agency reported that the conductor of the Italian train was among those killed.
The French train was carrying five passengers and was traveling between Nice and Tende, a French town near the collision site. The Italian train was carrying about 200 people, according to the prefecture's statement, and was on a route that passes through France and links the Italian cities of Torino and Ventimiglia.
The cause of the crash was unclear, SNCF said. Only one set of rail tracks ran through the mountain tunnel. Officials were investigating.
Concerns have been raised in France about the safety of mountain passages in the Alps since a 1999 fire in a tunnel for cars and trucks. The blaze in the Mont Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy raged for two days, trapping people in their vehicles and killing 39 people.
