The Solers rail accident, which occurred on August 10, 1918, took place in Solers in the department of Seine-et-Marne. It killed 24 people and injured 61. A hundred horses were also killed.
Circumstances of the accident
The drama occurs on the night of August 10, 1918 at 3:30 a.m. on the old line from Paris-Bastille to Marles-en-Brie. A train coming from Paris came to a standstill following a coupling failure on the Solers viaduct. The chef de train leaves to cover him at the back with the help of a light signal and firecrackers placed on the track. Despite this device, a train going in the same direction a few minutes apart fails to stop in time and collides with the stationary convoy. Under the impact, two wagons were thrown onto the adjoining track when a third train arrived in the opposite direction. This derailed, and some of its wagons broke through the parapet and fell into the Yerres six meters below.
The victims were transported to Coubert-Soignolles station, the closest to the scene of the tragedy, where the wounded were dressed before being transferred to Melun hospital, where five died. Although the press of the time put the death toll of the disaster at twenty-nine, it seems today that it was twenty-four, including nineteen killed instantly and buried in Solers, and five having succumbed to their wounds and buried in Melun. There were also sixty-one wounded, one missing, and a hundred horses killed.
The first two trains carried artillerymen from the 101st heavy artillery regiment from Lizy-sur-Ourcq to Révigny, the third carried soldiers from the 2nd regiment of Moroccan skirmishers from Maron to Rethondes in preparation for an attack scheduled for August 18. Eight of the latter will receive the military medal posthumously by decree of December 14, 1921.