Switzerland train crash leaves driver dead

Two trains have collided head-on in western Switzerland, killing one of the drivers and injuring 26 passengers, police said.

The driver’s body was found overnight in the wreckage of the crash on Monday at Granges-pres-Marnand in the canton of Vaud, police spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel said.

A total of 46 passengers had been on board, police said.

Police also said it was too early to try to ascertain the cause of the crash.

Rescue workers, including medics and firefighters, had rushed to the scene from across the Broye region which includes Granges-pres-Marnand, as well as from neighbouring cities.

One train had been bound for Lausanne, about 38km to the south, while the other was travelling north from the same city, officials said.

Monday’s collision on what is one of the most popular and safest rail networks in Europe was the latest in a series of rail accidents on the continent.

It came in the wake of Wednesday’s crash in the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela which killed 79, and a crash near Paris two weeks ago that claimed seven lives.