The crash happened during a test run in the town of Eckwersheim, on a new Paris-Strasbourg line.

The train was carrying 49 railway technicians when it derailed, caught fire, and plunged into a canal. Eleven people suffered serious injuries.

The derailment was due to "excessive speed", officials say.

Pictures showed the locomotive partly submerged. Wreckage was also scattered in a field beside the track.

Reports say the Paris-Strasbourg high-speed line is scheduled to open next year.

Junior transport minister Alain Vidalies and Ecology Minister Segolene Royal will visit the scene, French media reported.