20 Killed as Commuter Trains Collide Head-on outside Brussels: Report

Nearly 20 people were killed when packed commuter trains rammed head-on during rush hour outside Brussels on Monday, the mayor of the suburban town of Halle told Belgian media, reported AFP.

“There are at least 20 dead,” the local official was quoted as saying by Flemish public television VRT and national press agency Belga.

Report said that the none of the two, the national railways company SNCB and the track operator Infrabel, could confirm the toll.

“Police would place the probable toll from the accident at least a dozen dead,” Infrabel spokeswoman Fanny Charpentier was quoted as saying, telling out that two trains initially collided head-on.

“The collision was brutal, the train didn’t brake,” an unnamed passenger was quoted by RTL TV news website as saying. “Wagons have been turned over, lots of people are in shock.”

The mishap, sucking in a third train and causing major rail traffic disruption, occurred when the rush hour was at its peak, said report.

Anne Woygnet of SNCB also listed ‘serious’ injuries, report said.

The Thalys and Eurostar high-speed train services in and out of Brussels were seriously disrupted, said report.

Urging passengers to change their travel plans, Thalys said that three trains were involved, said report.

Eurostar warned, “It is possible that services remain suspended all day.”