Four killed after train hits school bus in Belgium

By Ivana Kottasová, Stephanie Halasz, CNN

(CNN) — Two children were among four people killed when a train hit a school bus in Belgium on Tuesday morning, Maxime Prévot, the country’s deputy prime minister said.

Local authorities in Buggenhout in northern Belgium said in a statement that a “serious traffic accident” took place in the town at around 8 a.m. local time in Tuesday. Photos from the scene showed a minibus laying on its side next to a railway track. The accident appears to have occurred near a level crossing.

Belgian Justice Minister Annelies Verlinden said on X that the accident involved a school bus, with local media reporting the vehicle was transporting students from a nearby special education school.

“Words fail at the accident in Buggenhout, in which a train and a school bus were involved,” she said.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said she was “heartbroken” to learn of the accident. “My deepest condolences go out to the victims’ families and their loved ones,” she said on X.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.