At least 4 killed in train collision with Belgian school bus

Four people, including two teenagers, were killed ​in ⁠Belgium on Tuesday when a ‌train crashed into a ‌school bus on a level-crossing near the town of Buggenhout, RTL TV reported, ‌citing Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke.

The victims also included ⁠the bus driver and an adult accompanying the pupils, RTL quoted Crucke as saying. Two other people were also severely injured, he added.

The accident occurred early on ​Tuesday at a level-crossing near Buggenhout station, ‌about 23 kilometres (14.29 miles) from Brussels. Crucke said security cameras showed that the crossing's ⁠security barriers had come down.

Interior Minister Bernard Quintin said on X that "it is with deep ​sadness ‌that I learned of the tragic ‌accident that occurred in Buggenhout."

This photograph shows a damaged train car at the site of an accident after a train crashed into a school bus, at the railway crossing Vierhuizen in Buggenhout on Tuesday. AFP

Spokespeople for the Belgian police did not immediately respond to requests for ‌comment.

Belgium, where ‌a dense railway ⁠network criss-crosses towns and villages, has ‌a history of accidents at level-crossings.

Five people died in such accidents ⁠in 2025, railway infrastructure operator ​Infrabel says on its website, the lowest number recorded since 2020. 

Reuters