School bus hit by a train in Belgium: at least four victims

At least four people, including two teenagers aged 12 and 15, were killed in an accident in Belgium, where a train collided with a school bus at a level crossing near Buggenhout in East Flanders. This was reported by Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke to RTL. Among the victims were the bus driver and an adult who was accompanying the students, the minister said, adding that two other people were seriously injured.

A total of nine people were on board the school bus involved in the accident, reports the Belgian federal police, pointing out that the vehicle was carrying seven children, in addition to the accompanying person and driver. The minibus was operating as a subcontractor of the Flemish public transport company De Lijn.

The exact circumstances of the accident have yet to be clarified, but according to initial information, the level crossing was closed at the time of the impact. "The level crossing barrier was down and the red signal was on. But further investigations will be necessary to clarify the exact dynamics of the accident,' explained a spokeswoman for the Belgian public prosecutor's office. 'We have appointed a traffic expert who will have to shed light on how the accident could have happened and its causes. The forensic police are also on site for the investigation and the public prosecutor's office has travelled to the scene of the tragedy. Testimonies will be collected and camera images analysed," the spokeswoman reported. 'The images show that the barriers were down and the traffic lights were red,' the spokesperson for Infrabel, the public company responsible for the management and maintenance of the Belgian rail network, Thomas Baeken, also told broadcaster Vrt, pointing out that 'the circumstances of the accident remain to be clarified and it will be the police and the public prosecutor's office that will conduct the investigation'.

The children involved in the school bus accident in Belgium were attending the Richtpunt Campus Buggenhout, a special education institution for students with behavioural, emotional and autism spectrum disorders. This was reported by the school councillor of the province of East Flanders, Kurt Moens, expressing his condolences to the families of the victims. "I wish a lot of strength to the injured, but also a lot of courage, support and closeness to our students and teachers, for whom this is a very hard blow," Moens emphasised. "For our school, this is a real tragedy.

The voices of the highest representatives of the European Union, whose main buildings are located in Brussels, the capital of Belgium, were not absent. "I was deeply shocked to learn of the tragic accident between a train and a school bus in Buggenhout today. My deepest condolences go to the families of the victims and their loved ones. Today Europe mourns with Belgium,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X. Condolences also from the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa.