Rescuers are still battling freezing temperatures and blizzards to free people trapped inside the overturned carriages and doctors are reported to be carrying out amputations at the scene.
Eurostar services between the UK and Belgium, which run on a parallel track, were suspended to allow emergency services better access. High-speed services to France were also cancelled.
The head-on crash between two trains carrying 300 people left a mass of twisted metal and overturned carriages after the accident at 8.30am local time. Both drivers are thought to have died on impact. The shock was terrifying. It was terrible,” said one of the passengers, who gave her name only as Sylvie as she emerged from the crash with an injured arm.
The trains smashed into each other at Buizingen, a suburb of Halle, nine miles southwest of Brussels in Dutch-speaking Flanders. The cause of the accident was not immediately clear but investigators at the scene were considering if the weather – days of ice and light snow last night – may have played a part.
Just after noon, the Brussels investigating magistrate put the toll at between 18 and 20 dead.
Dirk Pieters, Halle mayor, said that there were “at least 20 dead".
The wounded were rushed on stretchers to about 20 ambulances as snow hampered rescue efforts.
Many of the victims were seated in first class according to sources at the scene.
Luc Lalleland, area manager for Infrabel, the track company, said: "The number of victims hurt and killed is still not known because the emergency services are still busy.
"It looks like a head-on collision, then one train veered off to the left. In Belgium it is the half-term holiday so mercifully it seems that there were less children than usual on the trains."
Marc Descheemaecker, the chief executive of the national rail company SNCB, told a press conference: "There are still people who are killed and hurt inside the accident.
"The [two] trains were carrying around 300 passengers. A third train made an emergency stop and there were no casualties on that train.
"Both drivers are probably killed but we can't be sure at the moment. It's a very dark and sad day for the SNCB. We have lost several colleagues and people aboard the trains and our thoughts are with the victims and their families right now.
"There will be a full investigation by authorities and the cause of this very sad accident."
Asked about rumours that one train ran a red light he said: "It's too early to tell now what the causes are."
A huge cordon has been thrown up around the scene of the crash while dozens of ambulances and emergency vehicles ferry the victims and medical workers to and fro.
One unnamed passenger told local media that carriages had been overturned by the impact of the crash. “The collision was brutal, the train didn’t brake,” the passenger said. “Lots of people are in shock”.
A passenger who posted an account on Twitter said that he saw the train he was on going through a red light.
Another witness who was passing in a car nearby said: "I heard a loud bang. I thought it was an earthquake."
One train was going from Quiévrain to Liege and the other from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte.
Etienne Schouppe, the Belgian Secretary of State for Mobility, said that there were many seriously injured people at the scene who needed amputations
The crash caused massive damage to overhead power lines and occurred where tracks for domestic and high-speed trains meet.
Eurostar said on its website: "We advise Brussels travellers booked today to exchange their tickets or have them refunded. This can be done free of charge through your original point of purchase. Our Paris services are not affected. Lille services are running with delays."
The train operator Thalys said that all its high-speed services between Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam had been temporarily halted because they run on the lines used by the commuter trains that collided.
Yves Leterme, the Belgian Prime Minister, cut short a visit to Kosovo and headed back to Brussels after learning of the crash.
In 2008, more than 40 people were injured when a passenger train travelling in the wrong direction struck a freight train at Hermalle-sous-Huy in central Belgium.
In March 2001, two passenger trains crashed head-on at Pecrot to the east of Brussels, killing eight people including both drivers, and injuring 12. That crash was blamed on human error – staff at two Belgian stations did not speak a common language.
Messages of aid and condolences also came swiftly from the European Union, which has its headquarters in Brussels.
José Manuel Barroso, head of the EU Commission, spoke of his “deep sadness” at the news of the tragedy, and said the EU
0 comments:
Post a Comment