A train crashed into a van carrying schoolchildren in a small town near Brussels on Tuesday morning, leaving two children and two adults dead, Belgian officials said.
The students attended a special education school, said Kurt Moens, a deputy for the province of East Flanders responsible for education, at a news conference in Buggenhout, Belgium, the site of the crash.
Seven children were in the van, along with the driver and a counselor, confirmed Thomas Baeken, a spokesman for Infrabel, a transportation infrastructure operator, in an interview.
The barrier was down and red lights were on at the crossing, but the van bypassed them and moved onto the tracks, Mr. Baeken said.
The train’s emergency brake was deployed, but that did not prevent the crash, he added. He said that the accident, which happened at 8:08 a.m., was captured on camera and that the images would be used in an investigation.
“We are heartbroken,” Mr. Baeken said.
Buggenhout is less than 20 miles from central Brussels. The two children killed were 12 and 15 years old, the driver was 49 years old, and the counselor was 27 years old, said Lisa De Wilde, a spokeswoman for the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office, at the news conference.
Ms. De Wilde said five minors were taken to a hospital in critical condition. They were in stable condition at the time of the news conference, which took place just before 1 p.m. in Belgium.
Belgian and European officials offered their condolences.
“With great dismay, I learned of the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train,” Bernard Quintin, the Belgian interior minister, wrote on social media. “My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones. I wish the injured much strength.”
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Union’s executive arm, wrote on social media, “Today, Europe grieves with Belgium.”
Koba Ryckewaert is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Brussels.
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