Eight dead in Belgian train crash

A train crash in Belgium has left at least eight people dead and dozens more injured.

Officials said an empty train appeared to have crossed on to the wrong line, and crashed head-on into another one packed with rush hour commuters.

A spokesman for the Belgian national railway company said the driver of the empty train -- who was killed in the crash -- had gone through several warning signals.

The collision occurred near the southern town of Pecrot, about twenty kilometres south-east of Brussels.

The number of dead is expected to rise as the emergency services cut into the wreckage to search for trapped survivors. A crisis centre has been set up in the nearby town of Wavre

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service