- Title: BELGIUM: Firefighters carry out body from train crash near Halle
- Date: 16th February 2010
- Summary: BUIZINGEN, BELGIUM (FEBRUARY 15, 2010) (REUTERS) VIEW OF TRAIN WRECKAGE TRAIN CARRIAGES/RESCUE WORKERS FIREFIGHTERS CARRYING BODY FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE VARIOUS OF RESCUE WORKERS TRAIN CARRIAGES/FIREFIGHTERS VIEW OF TRAIN WRECKAGE
- Embargoed: 3rd March 2010 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Belgium
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAC5DZT3Y2U8G3VWFPKJ9E4GTUF
- Story Text: Emergency operations are underway as firefighters in Belgium carry a body out from a train wreckage.
Firefighters carried out a body from a train wreckage on Monday (February 15) after a head-on collision between two commuter trains killed at least 18 people.
The trains collided in snowy conditions at the village of Buizingen, near Halle, 15 km (9 miles) southwest of the Belgian capital, leading to cancellation of services to France and Britain.
Some passengers were still trapped inside one wrecked carriage in freezing temperatures several hours after the disaster, which occurred at around 8:30 a.m. (0730 GMT).
The province of Flemish Brabant, which includes the town of Halle, said that the death toll officially stood at 18, 15 of the victims men and three women. It is already Belgium's deadliest rail accident since a derailment in 1974 that cost 18 lives.
Provincial Governor Lodewijk De Witte told a news conference that one of the trains, a local service from Leuven, had continued past a red light and ploughed into an express train bound for Liege running some 10 minutes late.
But train operator SNCB said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the accident. It said 250 to 300 people were travelling in the two trains at the time. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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