BRUSSELS (Xinhua) -- The president of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy Monday expressed his “shock and sorrow” at the worst train accident in Belgium for decades.

Van Rompuy, former Belgian prime minister, said in a statement that “it is with great shock and sorrow that I have learned that two trains crashed this morning in Halle, causing numerous casualties.”
He also extended “sincere condolences to the families of the victims of this tragic accident, and to the Belgian authorities.”
Two passenger trains collided head-on Monday morning in the Belgian town of Halle, some 15 km southwest of Brussels, killing dozens of people.
Earlier, the mayor of the town said the crash had killed 20 people and wounded dozens of others. According to the latest official count, 18 people died in the collision, including 15 men and three women.