A rail worker was killed and another seriously injured in an accident with a train overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday in Wetteren (East Flanders), the network manager Infrabel confirmed on Wednesday. An investigation is underway into the circumstances of the accident.
The collision took place at 00:06 a.m. on a construction site near Viktor van Sandelaan, 200 meters from Wetteren station. A track was to be taken out of service from 12:40 a.m. but the workers started work earlier, explains Infrabel. The two workers were surprised by the passage of a train. One of them died instantly and the other, seriously injured, was taken to UZ Ghent.
Forty passengers on board
The train involved is that of the Brussels-Bruges line. Forty passengers were on board. They were disembarked from the train and taken by bus to their destination or another station.
The three other workers who were at the scene of the accident are receiving psychological support and have been questioned by the labor auditor. “We send our condolences to the colleagues, family and friends of the victims”said Thomas Baeken, spokesperson for Infrabel. “We are a big family of railway workers, this should never have happened.”
The workers had to work on a signaling system at Wetteren station. “A work window had been planned from 00:40 to 04:20”, explained Mr. Baeken. The investigation will have to determine why the workers, who were employed by a subcontractor of a contractor of TUC Rail, a subsidiary of Infrabel, started work in advance.