French Bandits Hold Up Train Near Marseilles
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In a scene straight out of "The Great Train Robbery," a group of masked men reportedly held up a passenger train and robbed a freight train outside of Marseilles on Thursday night. So much for worrying about pickpockets.
"It's worthy of stagecoach attacks in the Wild West," Police Union Official David-Olivier Reverdy told Reuters.
A regional train with 26 passengers on board and a cargo train were forced to a stop as they approached a blockade made up of shopping carts and metal beams. The robbers looted several carriages then disappeared into the night.
Though the train was damaged, no ransom notes were left behind and no injuries were reported. It remains unclear what was taken.
After the incident, passengers disembarked and walked about a third of a mile to the nearest level crossing, Deutsche-Presse Agentur reported.
The railway union released a statement implying that Thursday's robbery proved the railway authority had not invested enough in the security of its sites.
There really isn't a way travelers can protect themselves against a heist of this sort, but it's nevertheless important to safeguard travel documents and not carry all of one's cash at once.
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Alexander Walker
The last paragraph of this article is something from another century.
September 04 2011 at 2:03 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replywhere else, a city of pirates still.
July 08 2011 at 7:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyThe return of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
July 08 2011 at 7:08 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replyand they made their getaway in a deux chevaux
July 08 2011 at 6:20 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyInteresting heist. I need somebody to verify that the accompanying image of the locomotive pictured in this article is a "file photo" or not. The reason I am asking is that I was under the impression that the French divested themselves of Steam Powered Locmotives entirely back in the mid-1960s or possibly earlier.
July 08 2011 at 5:37 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyOn top of that, it looks like an East German Class 44. Don't ask me how I konw these things, just accept it.
July 08 2011 at 7:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply Alexander Walker
The choice of photo must be an attempt to capture the spirit of the incident.
September 04 2011 at 2:05 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhat fools and foolishness.
The Bible tells us that there is no darkness with God. That the darkness shines as bright as the light to God. So these idiots put masks on their faces. Did not God see them before they put on the masks, during their so-called facial cover-up, and has continued to see them afterwards? What fools and foolishness!
What the hell has god got to do with any of this..geez, it was a train heist, the robbers Im sure were not thinking about whether or not "GOD" was going to see their faces, nor in my opinion would they have cared in the slightest!!
July 08 2011 at 6:40 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyPut your hand in the hand of the hand of the man and then quietly step outside and go away.
July 08 2011 at 7:10 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyBandits of France are Jesse James from the Old American West !
July 08 2011 at 5:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Replymaybe its the ex head of the world bank ,he needs to get some of his lawyers fees back
ha
They must have been out to rob passengers as there is no mention of large cargo stolen. I suppose cash, jewelry and personal passports/papers were enough to motivate the robbery. And, Lynne, thanks for sharing your Europeon vacation w/us. I'm so glad you weren't on that train either :)
July 08 2011 at 4:28 PM Report abuse Permalink -1 rate up rate down ReplyGee, the rail way union says the rail road needs more security. Seems they want more union members.
July 08 2011 at 4:18 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"SLOVENIA" TODAY IN 2011 AND WHERE COMMUNIST GENOCIDE GOES ON FOR CREATION OF GREATER BYZANTINE SERBIA UNDER RUSSIAN FLAG http://sloveniatoday.blogspot.com "SLOVENIA" WHERE GERMANS(also Croatians in Croatia) ARE GETTING WIPED OUT 66 YEARS AFTER WWII OR 20 YEARS SINCE THEIR "INDEPENDENCE"(independence on paper only). Is Merkel truly great diplomat or is simply trading our lives behind our backs with worst enemies !!? Visit also DICTATOR OBAMA = STALIN = BUSH or USA = SOVIET UNION http://avsecbostjan.blogspot.com/ or http://avsecbostjan.wordpress.com/ ...TO LEARN WHO, HOW, AND WHY RUINED YOU…FROM 911 TO WHITE AMERICAN REFUGEES IN EXILE SEEKING ASYLUM RIGHT NOW !!! TIME TO DETERMINE WHOSE INDEPENDENCE/AMERICA, WE CELEBRATE TODAY(who want to erase us and denies us the right to exist) !!!
July 08 2011 at 3:30 PM Report abuse Permalink -9 rate up rate down ReplyHot 5 Deals
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