At least 18 people were killed Monday in one of the worst train collisions in Belgium’s history. At 8:28 a.m. a passenger train crashed head-on into another passenger train that had just left Buizingen station, near Belgium’s capital Brussels.
The collision was reportedly caused by a train ignoring a red signal. It is unclear whether this was a human or technical error, but a spokesperson of the Belgium railway company (NMBS) said they wanted to investigate before jumping to conclusions.
The crash caused a bang so loud, bystanders thought a bomb had exploded. Three wagons of the trains, that carried about 300 passengers in total, were de-railed. Most casualties were found in the front wagons.
Monday night officials said 62 passengers were injured, 11 of them seriously. The search for more victims has continued through the night but the falling darkness has made it increasingly difficult to find and identify victims.
A witness described seeing someone without legs and people with blood-covered body parts everywhere. “It was a nightmare,” another passenger told Belgium television. Heavily injured passengers were rushed to the nearest hospitals while the less serious injured were brought to a relief center.
Press was kept at a distance from the calamity to ensure the privacy of victims.
Most international train traffic to and from Belgium will be suspended on Tuesday.
The Belgium king and Prime Minister Yves Leterme returned from abroad to give support to the victims of the calamity.
The collision was reportedly caused by a train ignoring a red signal. It is unclear whether this was a human or technical error, but a spokesperson of the Belgium railway company (NMBS) said they wanted to investigate before jumping to conclusions.
The crash caused a bang so loud, bystanders thought a bomb had exploded. Three wagons of the trains, that carried about 300 passengers in total, were de-railed. Most casualties were found in the front wagons.
Monday night officials said 62 passengers were injured, 11 of them seriously. The search for more victims has continued through the night but the falling darkness has made it increasingly difficult to find and identify victims.
A witness described seeing someone without legs and people with blood-covered body parts everywhere. “It was a nightmare,” another passenger told Belgium television. Heavily injured passengers were rushed to the nearest hospitals while the less serious injured were brought to a relief center.
Press was kept at a distance from the calamity to ensure the privacy of victims.
Most international train traffic to and from Belgium will be suspended on Tuesday.
The Belgium king and Prime Minister Yves Leterme returned from abroad to give support to the victims of the calamity.
