Train hits school bus: four dead in Belgium

Buggenhout (Belgium) – A train collided with a school bus on Tuesday morning. According to VRT News there are several fatalities. The accident occurred at a railway crossing in Buggenhout, a town between Antwerp and Brussels.

School bus drove despite closed barrier

As Belgian media report, the train was still around a kilometer away from the station and was already braking. At 8:08 a.m. the school bus drove onto the railroad crossing. As can be seen from the surveillance camera footage, the barriers were already closed. The spokesman for Infrabel, the Belgian railway infrastructure authority, said: “The footage shows that the barriers were closed and the traffic lights were red. We don’t know how this happened Accident could come.” The train driver immediately initiated emergency braking, but was no longer able to prevent the collision.

Two children and two adults dead

According to Belgian Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke (63), four people were killed in the accident. “There are two children, the driver of the school bus and the accompanying person,” he told RTL. The five other children were seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Around 100 passengers on the train have now been evacuated and cared for. The school bus, a small van, was apparently occupied by seven school children, the driver and an accompanying person. According to the federal police, the bus was on the way to a special school where secondary school children (grades 7 to 12 in Belgium) are taught. The police is currently securing evidence and recording the accident. An expert should also be on site to do this Train wreck to reconstruct.

The terrible accident caused horror everywhere. Like many politicians, Ursula von der Leyen (67), President of the European Commission, contacted us via X and wrote: “Today Europe is mourning with Belgium.”