Mayor: 20 dead in Belgian commuter train crash

BRUSSELS // Two commuter trains collided head-on at rush hour in a Brussels suburb today, killing 20 people, Belgian officials said. The trains collided in snowy conditions in the town of Buizingen around 8.30am local time. "The most recent information we have is that 20 people died," town Mayor Dirk Pieters said on Belgian radio. He said he had received the reports from emergency officials on the scene south-west of Brussels. Kristien Berckmans, a Belgian railways spokeswoman, said earlier that "there was considerable damage and several people were injured."

There was no immediate word on the cause of the crash. Railway authorities said the accident caused great damage to overhead power lines in the station. Rail traffic from Brussels to southwestern Belgium was halted. * AP