Several people are feared dead after a train collided with a school bus in the Belgian town of Buggenhout on Tuesday morning, according to a source at the scene quoted by Reuters.
Belgium’s interior minister Bernard Quintin expressed grief over the accident in a post on X. “With great dismay, I learnt of the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones. I wish the injured much strength,” he wrote.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of fatalities or injuries. Rescue and relief operations are underway, and further details about the incident are awaited.
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A spokesman for the rail network operator Infrabel told news agency AFP that the collision happened at a level crossing in the northern Flanders region.
“The impact was extremely violent,” spokesman Frederic Sacre said, describing the toll as “dramatic”.
“It happened at around 8:08 am when a minibus was struck by a train that was due to stop at the next station, which was about a kilometre away,” he said.
