Train collides with school van in Belgium, killing four

By Inti Landauro

BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) – Four people, including two special needs students, died when a train crashed into a school minibus at a level crossing in the Belgian town of Buggenhout on Tuesday, authorities said.

The driver and an adult accompanying the students also died, while two other students were seriously injured.

Images in Belgian media showed a white minivan lying on its side near the track, with its front end badly crumpled.

Transport Minister Jean-Luc ⁠Crucke said that security camera footage showed that the security barriers at the crossing were destroyed.

“What could have been a beautiful spring morning suddenly turned into a pitch black day,” East Flanders Provincial Deputy Kurt Moens told news outlet VRT NWS.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told X: “Today, Europe suffers from Belgium.”

PAST ACCIDENTS

The crash occurred early Tuesday near Buggenhout station, about 23 kilometers (14 miles) north of Brussels.

Belgian federal police spokesman ‌An Berger said the minibus was carrying seven students with special needs and a companion to their school.

RTL quoted a spokesman for the state railway infrastructure operator Infrabel as saying that the train driver applied the emergency brakes but “the shock was extremely severe.”

Belgium, where a dense railway network runs through towns and villages, has a history of accidents at level crossings.

According to Infrabel’s website, 36 people have died in 168 such crashes since 2021.

(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Charlotte Van Campenhout; Editing by Richard Lough and Andrew Cawthorne)