Cyclist dies after collision with train: man wanted to quickly cross tracks

The accident happened on Saturday afternoon around 12.45 pm at the level crossing in Zele. A cyclist rode towards Europalaan when the railway crossing was already closed. The older man tried to cross the level crossing with his electric bicycle and was then hit by a train. It was able to quickly come to a stop, but the man did not survive the collision. The fire brigades of Dendermonde and Zele quickly arrived on the scene, and the various police services also immediately arrived to completely close off the accident site.

There were 37 passengers on the train to Lokeren at that time. They were given water and something to eat on the train, and were then evacuated and taken to their destination by buses. It is not clear why the older man still tried to cross the tracks. This is already the third accident at a level crossing in East Flanders this week. The previous two collisions happened in Nieuwkerken-Waas and Lokeren.