Grez-Doiceau, Belgium, 28 August (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Belgian authorities are investigating after two young people were found dead on railway tracks near a level crossing in Grez-Doiceau, Walloon Brabant, on Thursday morning. Reports identified them as a 22-year-old man who had been reported missing and an 18-year-old woman. The circumstances of the Grez-Doiceau railway deaths have not yet been established.
The Walloon Brabant public prosecutor’s office confirmed the discovery. Train traffic between Wavre and Sint-Joris-Weert was disrupted following the incident before services resumed at around 8am.
Why did the deaths happen and what do investigators know?
Authorities have not yet publicly determined why the two young people were on the railway or precisely how they died. Belgian reporting said the man had earlier been reported missing from Oud-Heverlee, while the bodies were subsequently discovered near the railway crossing in Grez-Doiceau.
Investigators are therefore keeping different possibilities open rather than attributing the deaths to a particular cause. RTL reporting on the case quoted the investigative position as “Aucune piste n’est écartée” — “No possibility is being ruled out.”
No verified public information currently establishes criminal involvement, and it would be premature to describe the deaths as suicide or an accident while the investigation continues.
What will happen next in the investigation?
The Walloon Brabant prosecutor’s office will seek to establish the sequence of events leading to the Grez-Doiceau railway deaths. Further investigative findings will be needed before authorities can give a definitive account of what happened.
The deaths also come amid concern about fatalities on Belgium’s rail network. L-Post reported that 14 suicides had been recorded on the network since 1 July, although that figure does not establish the cause of this case.
Belgian railway operator SNCB said such incidents “unfortunately happen regularly”, adding that they can cause trauma to train drivers. The operator provides psychological support to railway employees who want it.
For the families involved, the immediate next stage will depend on the findings of prosecutors and investigators. Until those findings are released, the cause of the deaths remains officially unresolved.
