At least 20 people were killed on Monday morning after two passenger trains collided head-on outside Brussels, local media reported.

The two commuter trains collided at about 8:45 a.m. local time (0745 GMT), the height of morning rush hour, in the Belgian town of Halle, some 15 km southwest of Brussels.

There has been no official announcement of casualties but local broadcaster VRT cited the mayor of Halle as saying at least 20 died and many others were injured, while Belgian National Railways said 25 people were killed.

Lodewijk De Witte, governor of the province of Flemish Brabant where Halle is located, told VRT that 10 people had lost their lives and 11 more, including a child, were in a serious condition.

There are still passengers trapped in the trains, according to Xinhua reporters at the scene.

Rail track operator Infrabel said the two trains crashed head-on, according to VRT.

One of the trains was traveling from the Flemish town of Leuven, east of Brussels, to Braine-le-Comte, south of the city. The other was traveling from the town of Quievrain, on the French border, to the industrial city of Liege.

Local television coverage showed a devastating scene, with two carriages pushed up into the air. It was snowing as emergency services attended the scene.

Go to Forum >>0 Comments