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| Belgian passenger trains collide | Belgian passenger trains collide |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Two passenger trains in Belgium have collided head-on near the capital, Brussels, with the latest reports of the death toll ranging from 10 to 25. | |
| Railway officials said the trains collided during the morning rush hour at Halle, south-west of Brussels. | |
| The national railway said 25 people had died. Other officials said there had been at least 10 deaths. | |
| Belgian media said the trains collided in snowy conditions. Trains to southern Belgium and beyond have been cancelled. | |
| 'Enormous devastation' | |
| The trains collided in the commuter town around 0830 local time (0730GMT) on Monday. | The trains collided in the commuter town around 0830 local time (0730GMT) on Monday. |
| Television pictures showed carriages pushed up at an angle or leaning to the side from the force of the crash. | |
| Witnesses said people were thrown around violently inside the trains with one passenger describing the "carriages compacted together" by the collision. | |
| Emergency workers said there was considerable damage to the overhead power lines at the station in Buizingen, the district of Halle where the trains crashed. | Emergency workers said there was considerable damage to the overhead power lines at the station in Buizingen, the district of Halle where the trains crashed. |
| Belgium's track operator Infrabel said an investigation into the accident was under way. | |
| "The devastation is enormous," said Infrabel spokesman Bram De Saedeleer. | |
| "Officials of the public prosecutor's office are at the scene and will supervise the investigation. Our first concern is for the victims." | |
| Doctors were treating some of the injured at the scene of the crash while others had been taken to nearby hospitals. | |
| Lightly injured passengers were taken to a sports hall for treatment. | |
| Belgian broadcaster VRT reported that sources with the national railway operator said 25 people had been killed. | |
| Local mayor Dirk Pieters said "the most recent information we have is that 20 people died... I base this on what the police and firefighters tell me." | |
| But the governor of Flemish Brabant province, Lodewijk De Witte, told VRT that 10 people were killed. | |
| Train service disrupted | |
| Infrabel said one train had been going from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte while the second train had been travelling from Quievrain to Liege. | |
| Rail services between Brussels and the south west of Belgium have been disrupted. | |
| In pictures: Belgium train crash | |
| There are no services between Brussels and Tournai or Mons. And Eurostar said its Brussels trains, including those to and from the UK, were cancelled until further notice. | |
| One Eurostar passenger bound for Brussels told the BBC his train had been stopped at Lille and passengers put on buses to the Belgian capital. | |
| Other high-speed trains between Paris and Brussels have also been cancelled. | |
| There has been no indication of what caused the collision but it comes after a weekend of snow and freezing temperatures across Belgium. | There has been no indication of what caused the collision but it comes after a weekend of snow and freezing temperatures across Belgium. |
| In 2001, eight people were killed and 12 were injured in a head-on collision between commuter trains outside Brussels. It was thought that language difficulties between a Flemish-speaking signalman and a French-speaking colleague were a factor in that crash. | In 2001, eight people were killed and 12 were injured in a head-on collision between commuter trains outside Brussels. It was thought that language difficulties between a Flemish-speaking signalman and a French-speaking colleague were a factor in that crash. |
| Another accident in 2008 left more than 40 people injured when a passenger train travelling in the wrong direction hit a goods train in central Belgium, AFP news agency said. | Another accident in 2008 left more than 40 people injured when a passenger train travelling in the wrong direction hit a goods train in central Belgium, AFP news agency said. |
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