Trains crash causing 18 deaths near Brussels by Milota Sidorova

Two trains collided from the head-side near Brussels on Monday. The collision killed at least 18 people and more than 160 were injured.The connection with the rest of the Europe, including some high-speed lines was cut for several hours. Thousands of passengers stayed in Britain, France, Germany and the Nederlands waiting for the alternative connection.Officials reported there could be a mistake caused by the driver. One of them succumbed the wounds, although his body hasn't been yet identified. Firefighters are still collecting bodily and clothes remains for a later expertise. According local sources 15 men and 3 women are among the victims. The passengers from the back ca! rriages escaped without injuries. All of them were transported into near sport center to be taken care of.Most of them were in the state of shock, the crash came within a moment. Local governor De Witte suggested the train couldn't stop on the red light and hit the opposite vehicle at high speed. Marc Deschneemaecker, a senior official with the Belgian rail company SNBC told one of the trains didn't have the equipment for the automatic stop on the red lights. This way, the collision should have been prevented. The deaths came as a unnecessary waste.Belgian officials prime Minister Yves Leterme along with the King Albert II interrupted their trips overseas and visited the site of crash. The crash is not the only one train disaster in the history of Belgium. In 1974 the derailment case caused 18 deaths. Liege, the city in Eastern Belgium cited a collapse of apartment block last month. 14 more people died there.

related story (sgx16474): http://www.france24.com/en/20100215-rail-collision-death-tol...

by Milota Sidorova for SigEx Ventures (http://sigexventures.com)

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