Buggenhout collision between train and school bus

The injured children were admitted to hospital in serious condition, said Lisa De Wilde, spokeswoman for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office.

The collision happened on Tuesday (Tuesday afternoon AEST) at a level crossing during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout, more than 30 kilometers northwest of the capital Brussels.

The driver of the minibus and an attendant died along with two children, 12 and 15, De Wilde said at a news conference.

She said the cause of the crash had not yet been determined. Detectives interviewed witnesses and checked security camera footage.

“What we do know is that the barrier was closed and the red light was on,” she said.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the badly damaged bus was lying on its side, with the front section crushed flat.

Forensic experts in protective white suits and gloves took photos of the scene. A forensic tent was built nearby. The train was relatively unscathed.

The train was estimated to be traveling at about 75 miles per hour as it approached the intersection and “had no time to brake,” said Frédéric Sacré, a spokesman for Belgian rail company Infrabel.

“The impact was extremely violent,” Sacré told public broadcaster RTBF.

Federal police spokesman An Berger said the bus driver appeared to have plowed through the train barrier.

Infrabel said the crossing worked properly. A security camera there showed the bus, with nine people on board, still moving when the train hit it.

It is believed that there were 100 passengers on board the train and none were injured. Train services in the area were halted and bus services for travelers were offered. Local officials held a minute’s silence after the news conference.

Children played basketball and rode bikes at a school not far from the scene in this rural town.

In a post on social media, Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin expressed “great sadness” about “the tragic accident in Buggenhout, in which a school bus was hit by a train”.

“My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones,” he said.