{
    "title": "Two children and two adults killed in school bus crash",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-26 12:50:02",
    "published_at": "2026-05-26 12:39:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/two-children-and-two-adults-killed-in-school-bus-crash",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/L0Hd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "two-children-and-two-adults-killed-in-school-bus-crash",
    "body": "<p style=\"text-align: left\"><strong>Two children aged 12 and 15 and two adults were killed when a school bus was hit by a train at a level crossing in Buggenhout, East Flanders, the public prosecutor&rsquo;s office has confirmed. Five seriously injured children have been taken to hospital and their condition is now stable.</strong></p><p style=\"text-align: left\">&ldquo;The toll is particularly heavy,&rdquo; said Lisa De Wilde of the East Flanders public prosecutor&rsquo;s office. &ldquo;There have been four fatalities. These are the 49-year-old driver of the minibus, a 27-year-old supervisor, and two children aged 15 and 12.&rdquo;</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The children were from the Richtpunt school in Buggenhout and a minute&#039;s silence was held ahead of the public prosecutor&#039;s press conference.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">The collision occurred at around 8.15 on Tuesday morning. The circumstances are under investigation but the crossing was closed with red lights displayed at the time of the accident. </p><div id=\"bookmark-a159b587-f7e4-4cb0-9cd8-c5a572db00e1\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"http://prez.ly/l0Hd\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Ff5a40372-bf6b-43fc-af8b-0464cc5d97e8%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=1c227a30194f440a4f4bc8d122ad0ce3)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"http://prez.ly/l0Hd\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"a159b587-f7e4-4cb0-9cd8-c5a572db00e1\"\n           >\n                School bus hit by train at level crossing            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                A train has collided with a school bus in at a level crossing in Buggenhout, East Flanders. VRT reports that several people have been killed...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fschool-bus-hit-by-train-at-level-crossing&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">The train was travelling from Bruges to Buggenhout, where it was due to stop. &ldquo;The level crossing was a kilometre before the station, so the train was already slowing down, but the impact was still enormous,&rdquo; a spokesperson for infrastructure manager Infrabel told VRT. &ldquo;The train driver did try to apply the emergency brakes, but it was too late.&rdquo;</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">According to operator SNCB/NMBS, there were around 100 passengers on the train. No one on the train was injured, although one passenger was treated for shock.</p><p style=\"text-align: left\">Flemish Education minister Zuhal Demir described the accident as &ldquo;heartbreaking&rdquo;. \u200b &ldquo;My thoughts are with all the victims, their families and everyone closely affected,&quot; she said on X. &quot;My deepest sympathies go out to everyone touched by this tragedy. I would like to thank the emergency services for their efforts at the scene.&rdquo;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | Police at the site of an accident after a train crashed into a school bus at a level crossing in Buggenhout, East Flanders, 26 May 2026 &copy; BELGA PHOTO DIRK WAEM</sup></p>",
    "header": {
        "large": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/b074ee36-29d3-4647-ae3c-5249860caa6e/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/",
        "release": "https://cdn.uc.assets.prezly.com/b074ee36-29d3-4647-ae3c-5249860caa6e/-/preview/1200x1200/-/format/auto/"
    },
    "links": [
        {
            "description": "School bus hit by train at level crossing",
            "url": "http://prez.ly/l0Hd"
        }
    ],
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
    "format_version": 5
}