There was a serious train accident in Belgium: today morning, Tuesday 26 May 2026, a train hit a school bus at a level crossing, causing four deaths (including two young students aged 12 and 15) and five injuries.
The episode occurred around 08:08 in Buggenhout, Flanders, at the Vierhuizen level crossing, located approximately 24 km north of Brussels: according to what was communicated by police spokesperson Frederic Sacre, the minibus was hit by a train that was about to stop at the next station, approximately 1 kilometer away.
The Belgian federal police stated that the level crossing barrier was down and the traffic light was red at the time of the accident: An Berger, the communications manager, explained that the bus would have broken through the barrier, thus accessing the railway line. According to some witnesses, the driver of the minibus was driving on a road parallel to the railway, and then turned left onto the level crossing while the barrier was already lowered: the reasons for this manoeuvre, however, are still unknown.
It will therefore be up to the authorities to understand what led the minibus to find itself on the tracks at the exact moment of the convoy’s transit. In the meantime, investigations have been launched with the appointment of a traffic expert and the intervention of a forensic laboratory at the scene of the incident.
Seven young people (children and adolescents) were traveling on board the vehicle, a 27-year-old companion and the 49-year-old driver, both unfortunately dead: among the children, five were taken to hospital seriously injured, while two aged 12 and 15 lost their lives. Local media reported that the vehicle was transporting students to a school for children with special educational needs.
The first to announce the budget was Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot, with a post published on X, visible below: «A tragic collision between a train and a school bus occurred this morning in Buggenhout. Four people died, including two children.”
The images from the accident site show the bus overturned on its side, with the bonnet completely crumpled. Meanwhile, rescue operations continued throughout the morning: according to An Berger, no one on board the train was injured, although one person was rescued in a state of shock.
