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Deadly Tornado Hits Val-d’Oise, Killing Worker and Toppling Cranes

Prosecutors opened a workplace manslaughter investigation into the Ermont construction-site fatality.

Overview

  • Authorities report one dead, four in critical condition and five with lesser injuries after a sudden, highly localized wind event centered on Ermont and nearby communes including Eaubonne, Andilly, Montmorency and Franconville.
  • Three construction cranes collapsed—one onto the Clos-Fleuri medico‑educational institute and another onto a residential building—while roofs were torn off and trees uprooted across affected areas.
  • Roughly 80 firefighters, 50 police officers and 20 SAMU personnel were deployed, a departmental operations center and municipal crisis cells were activated, and evacuations and site securings continued into the night.
  • Transport and power were disrupted, with SNCF suspending services on impacted sections including Transilien line H and about 1,500 households losing electricity around Ermont, according to operators.
  • Meteorological observers described a significant tornadic phenomenon of rare intensity, noted by some as France’s first deadly tornado since 2008, with detailed assessments continuing.