A train collided with a school van carrying students with disabilities at a level crossing in Buggenhout, Belgium, killing two students, one adult chaperone, and the driver of the van.
The exact causes of the accident are under investigation, while Belgium’s Transport Minister, Jean-Luc Crucke, said the crossing’s safety barriers had been lowered.
“What could have been a beautiful spring morning suddenly turned into a pitch-black day,” East Flanders deputy governor Kurt Moens told broadcaster VRT NWS.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “Today, Europe mourns together with Belgium.”
In 2010, two passenger trains collided in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 people, in what remains the deadliest rail disaster in the country’s modern history.
RTL cited a spokesperson for Belgium’s state railway infrastructure company Infrabel, who said the train driver activated the emergency braking system, but “the collision was extremely violent.”
There was also damage to the railway infrastructure. However, the Infrabel spokesperson stressed that “this is the last thing on our minds. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Belgium, which has a dense railway network, has a long history of accidents at level crossings, and 36 people have been killed in such incidents since 2021. In 2010, two passenger trains collided in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 people, in what remains the deadliest rail disaster in the country’s modern history.
The deadliest rail disaster in the country’s modern history occurred in 2010, when two passenger trains collided in the city of Halle, killing 19 people.
Sources: Reuters, Καθημερινή
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