Train carrying MEPs to Brussels hit by 'explosion'

Passengers including European Parliament officials were evacuated from a train heading for Brussels after some reported hearing an 'explosion', according to local media.

Smoke was reported to be coming from the locomotive of a train at Strasbourg station this afternoon.

Emmanuel Foulon, a spokesperson for the European Parliament, was among those on board and reported hearing 'a fairly loud boom' and seeing 'black smoke'.

'It went boom!' Foulon said. 'Three minutes later we received a message saying that the train had to be emptied and that we had to head towards the tunnel (the station exit).' 

Around 20 firefighters were deployed to the busy station at 2.45 pm local time, according to the Bas-Rhin firefighters' office. 

It added that a section of the train had been reserved for European parliamentary officials. 

No injuries were reported and the cause of the smoke was not immediately known.

Pelle Geertsen, a Danish official in the Left group, described the evacuation as 'chaotic' in a post on the social media platform X.

The evacuation of the train from Strasbourg to Brussels - both homes to the European Parliament - caused disruption to rail traffic in the region. 

France's national railway, SNCF, confirmed that the incident would affect trains along the eastern line until Thursday evening, according to a post on X.

Departures are expected to be disrupted until 6pm, according to French train operator SNCF. 

The European Parliament operates in both Strasbourg, where its plenary sessions are held, and Brussels, which serves as its administrative and committee headquarters.