Four killed as school minibus collides with train in Belgium

Belga/AFP

Two children, aged 12 and 15, and two adults have been killed in a collision between a train and a school minibus in Buggenhout, northern Belgium.

The bus had been carrying seven children, a driver, 49, and a chaperone, 27, at the time of the collision, which took place shortly after 08:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

"The bus was on its way to a special education school. It concerns mainly secondary school children," said federal police spokeswoman An Berger.

Belgian mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke confirmed reports that the barriers on a level crossing had been down when the crash happened.

"My first thoughts are with the victims," he said.

The other five children on the bus are in a critical but stable condition in hospital, the public prosecutor's spokeswoman told reporters, adding that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Nobody on the train was hurt, although one person was being treated for shock, according to Berger.

She said the minibus driver had been driving on a street parallel the railway and then turned left onto the level crossing while the barrier was already down.

At that point, a train was heading through Buggenhout and ran into the minibus, she explained.

Images from the scene showed the minibus lying on its side in Buggenhout, a small town near Aalst, to the north-west of the Belgian capital Brussels.

It was lying on the driveway of a house alongside the railway line and witnesses said the vehicle had been thrown some distance by the force of the collision.

"What heartbreaking news," Flemish education minister Zuhal Demir posted on social media. "My thoughts are with all the victims, their families and everyone closely involved."

"Today, Europe grieves with Belgium," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The train was slowing down at the time of the collision on its approach to Buggenhout station, Thomas Baeken, a spokesman for Belgian rail network Infrabel, told public broadcaster VRT.

He added that first indications from CCTV footage confirmed that the lights on the level crossing were red and the barrier was down.

"How this accident could have happened, we don't know. That is for the police and the public prosecutor's office to investigate," Baeken said.

Another Flemish minister, Annick De Ridder, told Belgian TV it was terrible news and too early to talk of responsibility at this stage.

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