RAILWAY SMASH NEAR BRUSSELS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2355, 13 April 1899, Page 45

RAILWAY SMASH NEAR BRUSSELS.

120 PEOPLE KILLED AND INJURED.

Details of the disastrous railway smash at tlie station of Forest, near Brussels, on February 18, shows that the London-Brussels .express, owing to the fog, dashed into a Tournni train which was just moving out of the station. The locomotive of the express leaped upon the three rearmost carriages of the Tournai train, crushing them, and killing no less than 21 of the passengers, and injuring nearly 100, several of whom are not expected to survive. None of the sufferers were of English nationality. The driver and stoker of the Tournai train, though uninjured, rushed away across the country in a state bordering upon madness. The dead were fearfully mangled, and some terribly distressing scenes were witnessed by the survivors and rescuers.

Davoust, the chief guard of the train says : " We. were just preparing to move out of the' station, and I was in the act of closing the door of my van, when there was a terrific shock, followed by a frightful crash, and shrieks of pain and terror; I was hurled to the other side of the van, and got my hand badly injured. I was partially dazed by the shock, but as soon as possible I got out on to th<? platform. It was an awful scene. The two last carriages were completely wrecked, and the engine of the Lille express was on the top of them. I knew they were full of people. Th scene was sickening, and almost beyond description. Many bodies were terribly mutilated. The engine had fallen partly over, and tho smoke-stack was knocked off. Under the centre wheels of the engine was a group of corpses. The place waa swamped with blood. Ono young girl had been cut completely in two. Her head was on her knees. One man had his left side completely crushed. In another case a young girl and an old man lay dead side by side. It was a pathetic sight. The girl had her hand in that of the man, who is believed to have been her father. Whilst the breakdown gang wore at work extricating these victims, a woman's voice was heard from under the other side of the engine. ' Save me ! save me !' she cried. A search was made, and a young woman was found pinned down by the wreckage. Around her were five dead bodies. At her sido was a young man whose head had been completely crushed. The blcod from his wounds was flowing across her face, she being unable to move. It was over two hours before f<he could be extricated. The poor girl proved to be a governess, aged only 18, who was on the way to Brussels."

An eye-witness told the Daily News correspondent that " tho awful crash of the heavy engine and tender of the express as it met the ill-fated train was followed by a few seconds of ominous silence. Then agonising shrieks rent tha air. The express engine sprang into the air, and literally leaped on to the other train. The end carriage was smashed into matchwood, as was also the next coach of 10 compartments. Both of these carriages were third class, and nearly every •tfeat was occupied. The locomotive crashed through tho roofs of the carriages on to the unfortunate passengers seated closely within them, crushing them out of life or dreadfully mutilating them. To add to tho horror of the disaster, boiling water and steam from tho boilers and red-hot coals rained on to them. The scene was an awful one, and the cries and groans of the injured and dying were heartrending."

Assistance was very quickly obtained from tho neighbourhood. The station master at Forest at once telegraphed to Brussels for further help, and a special train convoying doctors, etc., was sent with all despatch, and other trains with breakdown gangs, etc., quickly followed. In the meantime goo'l work had been done in first aid to the injured by about a dozen young medical students of tho Brussels University, who happened to be in the Lille train. Some very touching scenes were witnessed as the dpad and dying were extricated from the wreckage. One gentleman killed was a merchant named Sluyten, whose wife and two sons wore staying *t Foreat. .They proceeded to the station, but in the search got separated from their mother, and were horrified to find their father's bod/ amongst those crushed under the engine wheels. The lads found their mother, and managed to get her away from the station without seeing the terrible sight, persuading her that the father would not have travelled by that train. They returned later to identify the body, when a very distressing scene occurred. One lady was taken from the train terribly scalded, with both legs broken. Amputation was performed, but she succumbed. Another trying scene was witnessed when t he bodies of two sisters named Deamet were identified by their father. Most of the bodies were shockingly mutilated, the engine having criifihed the faces beyond all recognition. As tho bodies wero recovered they wero taken

to the morgue and laid in rows to await identic fication.^