Updated on: May 26, 2026 / 6:02 AM EDT / CBS/AFP

Brussels — A tragic incident occurred in Belgium on Tuesday when a train collided with a school minibus, resulting in casualties. The interior minister of the country reported that several ‘victims’ were in an unconfirmed condition following the crash.

According to two anonymous sources who spoke to the French news agency AFP, several individuals on the bus lost their lives in the collision. This information was echoed by the Reuters news agency, which also cited a local source confirming fatalities, although official confirmation from police or other authorities was still pending.

“With great dismay, I learnt of the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones. I wish the injured much strength,” commented Bernard Quintin, the interior minister, on the social media platform X.

Photos from the accident scene showed the minibus on its side near the railway crossing, its front end severely damaged. Emergency services were present at the site of the collision between the train and the minibus carrying school children, which occurred at the Vierhuizen railway crossing in Buggenhout, Belgium, on May 26, 2026. DIRK WAEM/Belga/AFP/Getty

The spokesman for the Belgian rail network operator, Frederic Sacre, described the incident’s impact as ‘extremely violent’ and referred to the outcome as ‘dramatic’.

“It happened at around 8:08 am when a minibus was struck by a train that was due to stop at the next station, located about a kilometer away,” Sacre explained.