Wetteren train crash was ‘solely fault of driver’
The train crash in Wetteren in 2013, which sent poisonous gas into homes via the sewer system, was entirely the fault of the driver, according to the final report
One fatality
The accident took place just before 2.00 on 4 May 2013, when seven wagons of an 18-wagon freight train derailed, bursting into flames and releasing the toxic substance acrylonitrile.
More than 30 people were admitted to hospital after being exposed to fumes, which leaked into houses via the sewer system. One resident died from exposure to the fumes. Some 2,000 people in Wetteren were evacuated from their homes, and thousands of blood samples were taken.
The train was on its way from the Netherlands to the port of Ghent. The Dutch driver died two years after the accident.
According to Katrien Borms of the prosecutor’s office, expert reports had shown that there had been no security breaches or technical faults. “The prosecutor, on the basis of all the elements in the case file, has come to the decision that the accident is solely attributed to the fault of the driver,” said Borms.
The train was travelling at 84km/h at the time of the accident, in an area where the speed limit is 40km/h. “Given that the driver is now deceased, he can no longer be criminally prosecuted,” Borms said. The case will be officially closed in December by a court in Dendermonde, unless new evidence comes to light.
Photo: The inauguration of a memorial plaque to recognise the train disaster in Wetteren in March of 2013
© Nicolas Maeterlinck/BELGA
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