Two youths of 17 and 19 died after being hit by a train on Friday at 11.45pm. It happened between the Schaerbeek and North Brussels stations, said Arnaud Reyman, spokesman for Infrabel, which manages the railways. The 84 people on board the train were evacuated two hours later by bus. The Prosecutor’s Office went to the scene. The Undertakers arrived around 5am.
Two of the six lanes were blocked. There was a little bit of a delay in traffic, which is lighter during the night and the weekend. It was able to return to normal around 5am.
While the circumstances surrounding the deaths have not yet been established, Arnaud Reyman reminded people that railway tracks are private property that must not trespassed upon.
“School holidays are a very dangerous period. Far too many children and students do not respect the railway tracks and take dangerous liberties. The Belgian network is the densest in the world. There are therefore tracks near to residential areas. People use the tracks as a playground, for shortcuts or walking their dogs. The danger is that people assume they will hear a train coming. But, a train is silent, and when you hear it, it’s already too late, said the spokesman.
(Source: Belga)
