A crash involving a train and a car occurred at a level crossing between Vlamertinge and Ieper (West Flanders) early this morning. The car driver perished. Nobody on the train was injured, though rail traffic between Poperinge and Ieper has been suspended.
The accident happened around a quarter past five this morning at the level crossing on the Poperingseweg between Ieper and the district of Vlamertinge. A train coming from the town of Poperinge collided with the car. The car was dragged along the tracks for quite some distance. "How exactly the accident happened is not yet clear," says Thomas Baeken of railtrack company Infrabel.
Local fire-fighters attended the scene and freed the motorist from the wreckage. The 28-year-old driver died at the scene. The car wreckage was trapped underneath the train preventing a swift resumption of services. The single passenger on the train, the train driver and conductor remained unscathed.
Due to the accident, no trains are running between Poperinge and Ieper. Passengers are being advised to take the regular bus service operated by local transport company De Lijn. Technical staff are at work in a bid to restore services that are not expected to resume until the afternoon.