Train derailment in Belgium kills 1, injures 27

A passenger train derailed on Saturday at a place close to Leuven railway station, killing one and injuring 27, according to media reports.

The train carried 84 people when it derailed at around 1 p.m. local time, confirmed Leuven's mayor Louis Tobback.

"The person who died was not on the train," local newspaper Le Soir quoted Louis Tobback as reporting.

The cause of the derailing has not yet been determined.

Belgium's Prime minister Charles Michel visited the scene to express his condolence to family members of the victim.

Federal minister for Mobility also went to the scene and said the accident was so severe that "the first car of the train jumped (off) the track."

According to the local newspaper Le Soir, the first car of the train separated from the others and overturned.

Emergency services immediately arrived at the scene and finished the evacuation of all the passengers by 2 p.m.

The SNCB, Belgium's train company, and Infrabel, the national railway operator, will lead an investigation to determine the cause of the derailment.

Federal authorities will lead another investigation as one person died in the accident.

All rail services passing through Leuven to Brussels have been suspended and a shuttle bus service has been provided for passengers.

source: Xinhua