Belgian authorities were holding a crisis meeting Tuesday morning in the aftermath of a commuter train crash near Brussels that left 18 people dead and more than 160 injured.
The impact forced cars into the air and left at least one carriage on its side.
Officials from Belgium’s military, the fire department, medical services and other agencies were attending the meeting, chaired by the provincial governor of Flemish Brabant. One of the top items they planned to discuss is what to do about the remains of those killed in Monday morning’s crash.
Not all of the victims have been identified, and authorities were working Tuesday with relatives of the dead to identify them through hair color, clothing, and belongings.
Train drivers went on strike Tuesday in several areas of Belgium, complaining of a lack of information from officials about the crash. The driver of one of the two trains that collided head-on in the crash was killed, but authorities did not confirm his death until Monday evening, said Willmes Bennig, from the union ACOD.
The driver of the other train survived with serious injuries, the provincial governor’s office said.
Bennig said union members had gathered at the main rail station in Louven, just east of Brussels. The Belga news agency said strikers were blocking depots at Louven and 10 other towns, severely disrupting rail traffic.
The crash happened Monday at the height of morning rush hour, when the two trains collided in Halle, just south of the Belgian capital. The cause of the crash was still unclear.
Passengers were thrown against the walls of the train and authorities said it was possible that some bodies could have been pinned underneath the trains.
The crash caused transport problems throughout Europe as Eurostar and Thalys, which both operate high-speed trains in northern Europe, announced suspensions.
Eurostar said its services between London and Brussels were “completely suspended” Tuesday and it advised Brussels passengers to delay or cancel their trips. It said the line was unlikely to reopen Wednesday.
The company said trains to and from Lille, France, were operating Tuesday, but on a revised timetable because of the problems in Brussels. Lille lies near the French-Belgian border.
All services on Thalys trains were suspended Tuesday because of the crash, the company said. Thalys operates trains between Cologne, Germany; Paris, France; and Amsterdam, Netherlands, most of them running through Brussels.
TGV, the French high-speed train operator, said its Brussels-bound services were still only going as far as Lille.
Source: CNN
PDF 
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
