Train derailment in Belgium leaves one dead, up to 20 injured

One person has been killed and up to 20 others were injured after a passenger train derailed and flipped on its side near the Belgian capital Brussels.

Leuven mayor Louis Tobback said the person who died in Saturday's incident was most likely not on the train itself, but was caught on or near the rails.

The derailment occurred early in the afternoon as the train left Leuven station at slow speed in the direction of Brussels Airport and the city.

Photos of the accident showed one passenger car lying on its side. Mr Tobback said most of the injured were only slightly hurt.

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All train traffic in and out of Leuven, 19 kilometres east of Brussels, has been interrupted by the derailing.

Authorities began an investigation into the cause of the derailment, which was not immediately known.

PA