Four people killed in Belgium in train and school bus collision | Belgium
An investigation continues into the deaths of 4 people, including 2 children, as a result of a school minibus colliding with a train in northern Belgium.
Five children were injured in an accident at a level crossing near the small town of Buggenhout in Flanders on Tuesday.
Belgian Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke said in a statement to RTL TV that two young people, the bus driver and an adult accompanying the children, lost their lives. “My first thoughts are with the victims, as well as those injured and their families,” he said.
It was stated that the other five passengers on the bus, all of whom were children, were hospitalized with serious injuries and their condition was stable.
The accident occurred just after 8am on Tuesday, when a school minibus collided with a train traveling from Bruges to Buggenhout, about 22 km north of Brussels.
It was reported that the bus tried to cross the level crossing despite the barriers being lowered and the flashing red light. When the train driver saw the minibus, he applied the emergency brakes, but could not prevent the collision.
A spokesman for rail network operator Infrabel told Flemish public broadcaster VRT: “We do not know how the accident occurred. This is an investigation by the police and the prosecutor’s office.”
The four victims were two children aged 15 and 12, their 27-year-old companion and the 49-year-old driver of the minibus, a spokesman for the prosecutor told reporters.
TV footage showed the crumpled white minivan flipping over on its side as it passed, accompanied by ambulances and a helicopter under a cloudless blue sky. According to a VRT reporter at the scene, the force of the impact sent the bus flying into the driveway of a house.
The children were attending a special needs school in the town.
“What could have been a beautiful spring morning suddenly turned into a pitch black day,” Kurt Moens, the East Flanders politician responsible for the school, told local media. “The accident in Buggenhout affected us all very deeply. I express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish patience to the injured.”
Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever wrote to X: “Deeply affected by the terrible accident at Buggenhout. My thoughts are with the families affected.”
National rail operator SNCB/NMBS said the train was carrying around 100 people and none were injured. “One of the passengers was in shock, but no one on the train was injured,” a spokesman told local media. The passengers were evacuated to a local fire station.
Belgium, which has one of the oldest railway networks in Europe with a high density of lines, has a history of accidents at level crossings, but this trend is decreasing.
According to Infrabel’s latest annual report, five people will die and nine people will be seriously injured in accidents at level crossings in 2024. The operator reported 30 accidents that year; Belga news agency and Brussels Times said historically lowAs opposed to an average of 45-50 crashes between 2008 and 2021.
Over the last 21 years Infrabel has removed 450 level crossings from the network as part of efforts to improve safety, with around 1,600 remaining.
Amid condolences from across Europe, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said she was heartbroken to learn of the crash: “Today, Europe suffers from Belgium.”
