The incident happened at a level crossing in Buggenhout and an investigation into the cause of the crash is under way.
According to Euro News, four people, including two children, were killed when a train hit a school minibus in northern Belgium on Tuesday, May 26, the country's deputy prime minister said.
"A tragic collision between a train and a school bus took place in Buggenhout this morning. Four people have been killed, including two children," Maxime Prevot wrote on X.
The children were aged 15 and 12, the public prosecutor's office said at a press conference. While the other killed were a 27-year-old teacher and the bus' 49-year-old driver.
A police spokesperson told the media that seven children, a supervisor and a driver were aboard the minibus.
The other five children on board were sent to hospital in a critical condition but are now all said to be stable.
Belgian media showed images of a badly damaged minibus lying on its side on a road next to a railway line, with tents set up by emergency workers around.
"The impact was extremely violent," police spokesperson Frederic Sacre said, describing the toll 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, which was about a kilometre away," he said.
Police said the barrier at the crossing was down and light was red when the collision happened. An investigation into how the crash happened is ongoing.
