At least 18 people we're killed in commuter train collision outside Brussels at 8:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. ET), the Belgian railways said. The damage is vast.

Aid services are busy working at the crash site: the search for survivors has been terminated.

More deaths

It is possible more have died because not all carriages have been searched, said Lodewijk De Witte, governor of the province Vlaams-Brabant.

He also said one of the trains would have ignored a red sign.

Holidays

Approximately 55 passengers are wounded. Eleven are badly injured, including a child. There we're approximately 250 to 300 passengers in the trains, that's less than normal because of holidays.

A crisis center has been set up in Leuven.

The Belgian prime minister Leterme has cancelled his visit to the Balkans. When he landed at the airport of Pristina, he returned immediately. He will visit the crash site, possibly with king Albert.

Traffic redirection

Temporarily, there will be no departs of Thalys trains directing to Paris (http://www.thalys.com/be/en/traffic-info?news=news-Accident_Hal&time=1266227930). The trains from Paris are being redirected. One Thalys who was underway, has stopped. The Eurostar from Bruxelles to London won't travel.