Two people were seriously injured and several evacuated from a residential building in Antwerp after a tram crashed into its façade shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
Witness accounts say the incident, which took place in the Antwerp district of Deurne, saw a tram go off the tracks while attempting to make a turn and hit the building's façade straight on, according to HLN.
"I was sitting on my terrace on the third floor when I suddenly heard a loud bang. I saw a big dust cloud on the street. At first I feared that a fire had broken out," Ludo Clymans, who lives in the building, told the outlet.
The driver of the tram was taken to the hospital with serious injuries and a passenger was also seriously injured. Two other people onboard sustained lighter injuries and were treated on site by the emergency services.
The building's residents were evacuated and advised to spend the night elsewhere, as city engineers needed to establish whether the building was still stable after the blow.
Building resident Marie Oom, 88, said she was about to go to bed when she heard the crash, and that she did not immediately realise what had happened.
"I heard that thump and I thought a thunderstorm was coming because it had been announced in the weather report," she told the outlet.
The circumstances leading to the incident remain unclear and are going to be the subject of an internal investigation by transport company De Lijn.
A spokesperson with the transport company said surveillance camera footage will be analysed and that the driver of the tram, who he said had years of experience, will be interviewed as soon as possible.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times
