A 21-year-old anti-nuclear activist died in northeastern France on 7 November 2004 after being struck by a train carrying processed nuclear waste from the La Hague facility to Gorleben, Germany. The man, believed to be from the Meuse region, had chained himself to the main Paris-Strasbourg railway line near the town of Avricourt. He lost a leg when the train rounded a corner at reduced speed and was hit, and died at the scene despite the arrival of emergency services.
About eight people had gathered along the tracks. The rest moved clear as the train approached, but the 21-year-old did not. Police said he was not believed to be connected to two other protesters who had earlier chained themselves to the same line near Nancy, delaying the convoy by roughly two hours.
The train had left La Hague on Saturday evening carrying 12 containers of spent fuel, the seventh such shipment to Gorleben since 1996. It crossed into Germany at 8:35 pm Sunday. Gilbert Poirot of the Nuclear Out protest group said the demonstrators appeared to have lacked any means to warn the approaching crew of their presence.
Germany's Green Party, a governing coalition partner, expressed shock and called for a full investigation. Several hundred people gathered near Gorleben later that evening with candles in a spontaneous tribute to the dead man.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.