Two packed commuter trains collided head-on during rush hour outside Brussels yesterday, killing at least 20 people, a local mayor told Belgian media.
The crash left several carriages on their side, witnesses said, while an official said doctors were carrying out amputations at the scene.
The two trains hit each other near the town of Halle, about 15km southwest of Brussels in Dutch-speaking Flanders.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Halle Mayor Dirk Pieters told Flemish public television VRT and national press agency Belga that there were “at least 20 dead.”
“All the emergency services are there. The most serious injuries are being treated at the scene before being taken to hospital,” the mayor said.
Belgian Secretary of State for Mobility Etienne Schouppe told the RTBF broadcaster there were many seriously injured at the scene who needed amputations.
“The collision was brutal, the train didn't brake,” one unnamed passenger was quoted as saying by the RTL television news Web site. “Wagons have been turned over, lots of people are in shock.”
Neither the national rail company, SNCB, nor the track operator, Infrabel, were able to confirm the toll. Infrabel spokeswoman Fanny Charpentier said police believed there were at least 12 dead.
One train was going from Quievrain to Liege and the other from Leuven to Braine-le-Comte, Infrabel said.
The accident caused major rail traffic disruption.
Thalys and Eurostar high-speed train services in and out of Brussels were seriously disrupted, the two operators said.
Thalys advised passengers to change their travel plans.
Eurostar said services might “remain suspended all day.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS