03/27 06:48 Belgian Train Crash Kills at Least Eight, Belga Says (Update2) By James G. Neuger

Brussels, March 27 (Bloomberg) -- At least eight people were killed and a dozen injured when two commuter trains collided outside Brussels, the Belga news service and Agence France-Presse reported.

One train carrying no passengers ignored a stop signal and hit another with 80 people on board in Pecrot, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Brussels, AFP said. The two engineers were among the dead, Belga reported.

Belgian Transport Minister Isabelle Durant blamed the morning crash on ``human error,'' Belga reported. One of the injured people was in critical condition, six were seriously hurt and the rest suffered minor injuries, AFP reported.

The accident may heighten safety concerns as Belgium's state- owned railroad struggles to win workers' approval for plans to cut costs and increase efficiency. Railroad employees staged a 24-hour strike last Friday that paralyzed the Belgian transport network and halted high-speed trains to London and Paris.

King Albert II and Queen Paola rushed to the scene along with members of Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt's government, the news services reported.

(Belga 3-27, AFP 3-27) http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?ptitle=Top%20World%20News&s1=blk&tp=ad_topright_topworld&T=markets_bfgcgi_content99.ht&s2=blk&bt=ad_position1_windex&middle=ad_frame2_windex&s=AOsB_KhUMQmVsZ2lh

-- Carl Jenkins (somewherepress@aol.com), March 27, 2001

Answers

Train crash in Algeria yesterday, too.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), March 27, 2001.