25 feared to be dead in a train crash

One of the most serious Belgian train accident since March 28, 2001

Kathmandu, 15 Feb. (Dainikee)

Two commuter trains collided head on at Buizingen, nine miles south-west of Brussels, at 8.30 am local time (0730GMT). The death toll is estimated to be up to 25 people according to the railway officials.

Lodewijk De Witte, governor of the province of Flemish Brabant, said one train "apparently did not heed a stoplight." One of the commuters was travelling from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte and the other train was on its way from Quiévrain to Liège.

The train crash not only affected rail disruption in and out of Brussels but train service across Western Europe was disrupted. The international high-speed network Thalys, which links cities in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands, temporarily halted all traffic because its trains use the same rails as commuter lines near Halle, said Patricia Baars, a company spokeswoman. Thalys has at least 25 round-trip trains operating between Paris and Brussels each day, plus seven linking Brussels and Amsterdam and six from Belgium to Cologne, Germany.

There were no immediate reports of what had caused the crash. Snow showers were predicted in Brussels, where temperatures were close to freezing.

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