Train struck school bus
School bus collides with train: Several dead!
A serious accident occurred Tuesday morning in Belgium. At a railroad crossing, a minivan used to transport schoolchildren was struck by a passenger train. According to the Minister of Transportation, two students, the driver, and an escort were killed. The other children were seriously injured.
The fatal crash occurred shortly after 8 a.m. in the town of Buggenhout, home to 15,000 residents, in the Flanders region. The school bus was transporting children to a special education facility. In total, there were seven children aged 12 to 15 in the vehicle, along with the driver (49) and a chaperone (27).
Traffic lights red, barriers down: Cause of accident still unclear
It is still unclear how the serious crash occurred. The public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation. The following facts are established: The railroad crossing is located about one kilometer from the town’s train station, and the passenger train had already begun braking. The lights were red, and the barriers were down. “We have video footage that proves this,” emphasized Transportation Minister Jean-Luc Crucke.
“My thoughts are with the victims and their families. I wish the injured much strength,” Belgian Interior Minister Bernard Quintin wrote on Tuesday on the social media platform X. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also stated on X: “Today, Europe mourns with Belgium.” Flemish Education Minister Zuhal Demir expressed her shock on X: “What heartbreaking news from Buggenhout! My thoughts are with all the victims, their families, and everyone affected.”
Mayor: “Community is Devastated”
Mayor Geert Hermans spoke at a press conference, during which a moment of silence was also observed, of a “community that has been hit hard.” “We on the crisis management team and the entire community are deeply shaken and affected by what has happened,” Hermans continued. The mayor also expressed his gratitude for the assistance provided by emergency responders.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.