Overview
- A school minibus was hit by a regional train at a level crossing in Buggenhout on Tuesday, May 26, killing four people, including two children.
- Ten people were in the minibus — seven pupils, the driver and an accompanying adult — and several survivors were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
- Infrabel, the rail infrastructure manager, says the crossing barriers were down and traffic lights red, and that camera images show the barrier closed while the train approached at about 120 km/h.
- Train passengers were evacuated without physical injury and emergency crews secured the scene as the public prosecutor opened a criminal and technical investigation with police scientific teams.
- Investigators will analyze camera, signal and vehicle data to establish how the minibus entered the closed crossing; some reports say the vehicle served a school for pupils with disabilities but that detail is not fully confirmed.