Belgian rail service SNCB/NMBS has launched an internal investigation after videos showing two security officers forcibly removing an older man from a train were widely circulated on social media.
In the first video, shared on Saturday, the man can be seen standing in the aisle of the train, held by two Securail guards who are urging him to leave the train, and asking him to stay calm.
A woman is then heard in the video asking them to stop as they are "hurting the man."
"This old man had his rail pass, but because he is a homeless person, he was treated very aggressively by securail," the woman who shared the video said on Twitter.
Dit gebeurde vandaag op de trein richting Etterbeek-Brussel Z. Deze oude man had zijn abonnement maar omdat hij een dakloos is werd hij heel agressief behandeld door securail.Hij bleef bijna zonder adem en werd op het einde heel hard buiten de trein weggesmeten @NMBS RT MENSEN pic.twitter.com/BMzaYAPnDB
— یاسمن? (@yas_min_bs) October 12, 2019
A second video also shows the man - now off the train - lying on his belly on the platform, while the two agents push him to the ground.
"I'm sorry I didn't say anything but really, this is just part of what had happened. I was really shocked. How are people going to intervene, see how aggressive they were," the woman added in a follow-up tweet.
The video has been watched more than 65,000 times, Nieuwsblad reports. The events occurred at the Schuman train station.
The exact circumstances surrounding the events are not clear at this time, with onlookers saying the man had a rail pass on him. It is also not clear what prompted the officers to act this way.
"We did indeed see the film and started an internal investigation", said spokesman Bart Crols. "We take such matters very seriously."
Jules Johnston
The Brussels Times
