Moissac: the suicidal man was sought by the gendarmes

A 38-year-old man took his own life by positioning himself on the railway tracks as a train passed by on Sunday night. His disappearance had been reported by his relatives, and the gendarmes were searching for him.

There was a major disruption on Sunday night at Moissac station. An Intercity train with 633 passengers on board was traveling towards Nîmes when the driver hit a man who had positioned himself in the middle of the tracks, forcing him to brake suddenly.

The unfortunate man was hit head-on by the locomotive, and despite the efforts of emergency services (SMUR doctor, 17 firefighters with six vehicles), they couldn’t save him. It turns out that this 38-year-old man, who lived with his parents in the Valence-d’Agen area, had been missing for several days and was being sought by the gendarmes.

Upon returning from vacation, the parents realized that their son had disappeared without explanation. After three days of waiting, they alerted the gendarmerie, who began searching for him. The man had left his car at the scene along with his phone to go on foot, but investigators had difficulty tracing his route. An examination of his bank account revealed that he had left just before his parents returned. Since Friday, the gendarmerie had requested the assistance of a tracking dog, a Saint Bernard capable of finding tracks within a 20 km radius. Unfortunately, it was in vain.

There will be no autopsy, but an examination of the body, which was taken to the forensic institute. The gendarmes conducted various checks on the locomotive and tracks before subjecting the driver to an alcohol test, which turned out negative.

The train resumed its journey after a 2.5-hour forced stop.