25 feared dead in Belgium rail crash

TWO commuter trains collided head-on at rush-hour in a Brussels suburb today, killing as many as 25 people, Belgian rail officials said.

Belgian National Railways told the VRT radio network that 25 people had died in the train crash, but the suburb’s mayor said the death toll was 20.

Lodewijk De Witte, governor of the province of Flemish Brabant, said that 10 people were killed.

The trains collided in light snow just outside the station at Buizingen, Belgium, at around 8.30am local time.

The force of the collision smashed one train deep into the front of the other, peeling back the metal sides.

The trains tipped high into the air and broke overhead power lines.

Christian Wampach, 47, said: “It was a nightmare. We were thrown about for about 15 seconds. There were a number of people injured in my car but I think all the dead were in the first car.”

Town mayor Dirk Pieters said the seriously hurt were taken to hospitals, while injured passengers were moved to a Buizingen sports complex.

It was unknown how many people were injured as a result of the train crash.

There was no immediate word on the cause of the train crash in Belgium.