A French high-speed TGV train derailed early Thursday after an embankment collapsed into the tracks in eastern France, seriously injuring the driver and hurting 21 others.

The bullet train was heading to Paris at around 270 km/h (170 mph) when the locomotive ran off the tracks near Ingenheim, around 30 kilometres (20 miles) northwest of Strasbourg.

The driver sustained a crushed chest and was evacuated by helicopter in critical condition, said Dominique Schuffenecker of the Bas-Rhin regional authority.

National rail operator SNCF said he was expected to survive, while the crew chief on the train suffered a back injury and one passenger suffered a facial injury.

Most of the other injuries among the 348 passengers onboard were minor, though some were treated for bruises or shock, Schuffenecker said.

The train was still intact but the locomotive was leaning on its side and four other wagons were also off the tracks, which were bent near the area where the embankment collapsed, according to AFP journalists at the scene.