A CRIMINAL investigation is underway following an accident which took place at 08.08 on May 26, when a Belgian National Railways (SNCB) passenger service collided with a school minibus on a level crossing in Buggenhout on Line 53 between Mechelen and Dendermonde.
Seven children and two adults were onboard the minibus. Both adults, the driver and a chaperone, were killed as a result of the collision, as well as two children aged 12 and 15 respectively. The remaining five occupants of the minibus were seriously injured, and their condition is reported to be stable.
The SNCB service, operated with a three-car type AM08 EMU, was running form Bruges to Mechelen and had over 100 people onboard, none of whom were injured. The driver is reported to have quickly applied the emergency brake, but the train was still travelling at 90km/h at the moment of impact.
Based on footage from cameras installed at the level crossing, infrastructure manager Infrabel has been able to determine that safety equipment was functioning correctly. The barriers had come down in time to close the crossing to road traffic and the red warning lights were illuminated.
An investigation is now underway by the police and the prosecutor to determine if any criminal offences have been committed. Infrabel has committed itself to fully cooperating with the investigation, anxious to discover the cause of what is one of the worst level crossing accidents in Belgium in recent years.
While Infrabel says that it replaces a large number of level crossings every year with bridges or tunnels, there still remain 1621 on the Belgian national network. Infrabel initiatives to improve safety at level crossings have included the installing LED warning lights as well as cameras to detect obstacles on the track, and a recently-launched a campaign to raise awareness among road users.
