Four killed as train and school bus collide in Belgium – Europe live
From 2h agoFour dead in school bus crash, Belgian deputy PM confirms
Belgian deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot confirmed the death toll from this morning’s crash.
In a post on X, he 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. I would like to thank my colleagues from other countries who have already come forward to express their solidarity, and I naturally join them in offering my condolences to the families of the victims. My thoughts are with them, and also with the emergency services who had to deal with this harrowing incident.”
Norway has also summoned the top Russian diplomat in the country, the foreign ministry in Oslo said.","elementId":"80cc96a9-66d5-4e34-b725-53b668644a7a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
In a statement, Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide confirmed the top diplomat was summoned to “protest against the threats against foreign personnel in Ukraine that Russia has made in recent days.”","elementId":"ef15f0bc-fead-4129-ba7b-921f24e5c14a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“We also emphasised that we have condemned Russia’s violent attacks on Kyiv this weekend. Russia is behind very extensive drone attacks, in addition to using the Oreshnik missile against Kyiv for the first time. It is unacceptable.”\n","elementId":"43d21ad7-8b7e-434b-9cb7-01a651169744"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779796866000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"14.01 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779796979000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"14.02 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779796979000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"14.02 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"14.02","title":"Norway joins EU in summoning top Russian diplomat over Kyiv threats","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a15810b8f08de8142ebfc51","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Back to Ukraine, the EU has summoned Russia’s top diplomat in Brussels over Russian warnings telling foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv amid planned new strikes on the Ukrainian capital.","elementId":"44374bbd-16d8-4dc2-b35f-a98e7d4dc5c6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
EU’s foreign policy spokesperson Anitta Hipper said on X:","elementId":"1c719046-085d-458e-a047-bd7104f06b33"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“[Russian] threat to foreign citizens & diplomats to leave Kyiv is an unacceptable escalation. @eu_eeas summoned the Chargé d’Affairs, calling to stop hitting civilians & [Russia] to engage in genuine peace talks starting with a full and unconditional ceasefire. \n
@EUDelegationUA stays in Kyiv.”\n","elementId":"88b66b3d-d625-409c-9b0b-f653d18acbed"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Earlier, she told the commission’s daily press briefing:","elementId":"42304268-3bee-4b5d-9c02-bc22e9abcbba"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“[The threat] shows once more, actually, one thing that we already knew, that Russia is absolutely not interested in any peace and has a total disregard for all the efforts towards the peace.”\n","elementId":"eb02288c-c69b-462b-a9b5-63a0be86e18a"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779794187000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"13.16 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779794363000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"13.19 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779794363000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"13.19 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"13.19","title":"EU summons Russia's top diplomat in Brussels over pre-strike warnings for foreigners, diplomats in Kyiv","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a1576688f08de8142ebfbba","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Belgian deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot confirmed the death toll from this morning’s crash.","elementId":"331a22cb-e3a2-4eab-868c-82365dfb49ab"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
In a post on X, he said:","elementId":"addb01e1-f91c-4b0e-9677-c1c1c6df34f0"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, responded to the crash on her social media.","elementId":"eeb75313-4e5b-4177-aa60-ece4c4ec278f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
She said:","elementId":"8ae05d98-307e-4230-9e79-cc2056f768d4"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“I was heartbroken to learn of the tragic accident between a train and a school bus in Buggenhout today. My deepest condolences go out to the victims’ families and their loved ones. Today, Europe grieves with Belgium.”\n","elementId":"6d4e39cb-6e80-463f-9bf4-219c801dcddd"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779789929000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"12.05 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779789960000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"12.06 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779789960000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"12.06 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"12.06","title":"European Commission president von der Leyen 'heartbroken' after school bus crash","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a156b798f08f17ac39568e5","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Belgium’s mobility minister Jean-Luc Crucke told Belgian broadcaster RTL that four people died in the crash – two children, the driver and the other adult.","elementId":"efb513f7-e735-4794-836c-b45ec48aa006"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“It’s tragic,” he was reported as saying.","elementId":"9a01294f-6e43-45ab-9642-66e6245feff8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“My first thoughts are with the victims, but also with those who were injured and their families.”\n","elementId":"0f19ec73-fad8-4b6d-a3d7-c0738512c3de"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Two people were seriously injured, he added.","elementId":"93bfc833-18ef-46d9-9ef0-9fdd68ba6af8"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779788665000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"11.44 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779788811000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.46 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779788811000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"11.46 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"11.46","title":"Four dead, two seriously injured in school bus crash, minister says","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a1566928f080414a3d9b35e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
A collision between a train and a school bus in the Belgian town of Buggenhout on Tuesday morning with several people reported to be affected.","elementId":"f7470071-5461-4132-8a86-ae021361bc99"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Belgium’s interior minister, Bernard Quintin, said there were several “victims,” without offering more detail.","elementId":"a1846b55-2063-4872-9ce7-76cc4ae2c55a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“With great dismay, I learned of the tragic accident in Buggenhout, where a school bus was struck by a train. My thoughts go out to the victims and their loved ones. I wish the injured much strength,” he said on X.","elementId":"69fffc6d-87e2-455d-befc-fdecf697362b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Spokesperson for the federal police, quoted by Le Soir, did not disclose any further information on the condition of people affected by the incident.","elementId":"cf7f1ba7-8db3-48b7-a947-57af97e50238"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779787410000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"11.23 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779787947000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"11.32 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779787681000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"11.28 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"11.28","title":"'Several' people injured after school bus was struck by train in Belgium","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a155b5d8f089865cf41d07e","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The French government said Tuesday that seven people were reported to have died in connection to the recent heatwave baking much of western Europe, five of which were drownings, AFP reported.","elementId":"dd140daf-44b1-4213-ae0f-fdea52f81eb8"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“What I can say today is that there have been seven deaths directly or indirectly related to the heat,” government spokesperson Maud Bregeon told television broadcaster TF1.","elementId":"40471217-406a-4fe3-b87a-aeee6218e86b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Bregeon added that the figures and specific causes of death would need “to be clarified once the episode we are currently experiencing has come to an end”.","elementId":"d8e48b02-510e-48c4-9212-8fdadee12b5f"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779784541000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"10.35 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779784588000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"10.36 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779784588000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"10.36 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"10.36","title":"Seven dead reported in heatwave-linked incidents in France","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a1552fe8f080414a3d9b2ca","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Jon Henley in Paris and Sam Jones in Madrid","elementId":"5776893a-cc19-48d0-ab4c-769be08de84f"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
The UK’s Met Office said the country’s all-time record for May was broken when a temperature of 34.8C was recorded at London’s Kew Gardens.","elementId":"26258ed7-002a-4dae-96f3-aeee67f87bdf"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Météo France said late on Monday that new monthly highs for May had been recorded at 352 weather stations mainly in western France, with the highest – 37.1C – registered near Hossegor, in the south-western department of Landes.","elementId":"3de90840-f502-4216-8462-e0d84bc52265"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
“This is an unprecedented event with a one in 1,000 chance of happening at this time of year based on the climate from 1979 to 2025 and virtually impossible in the preindustrial era,” Christophe Cassou, a climate scientist, told Le Monde.","elementId":"43b14792-c8e7-4478-b157-24eba8e3af3a"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
More new highs are likely to be set in France, Spain and the UK, forecasters said, with temperatures exceeding norms by 12C or 13C in what Météo France described as a “premature, remarkable and long” heat episode expected to last several more days.","elementId":"42b992cc-b47d-4215-b97d-60661124dcf9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement","prefix":"Related: ","text":"Record May highs sweep across France as extreme heat hits western Europe","elementId":"aac4ffb8-e8c3-4bb2-9f20-ccd638a443cb","role":"thumbnail","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/25/france-highest-ever-may-temperatures-spain-heatwave"}],"attributes":{"pinned":false,"keyEvent":true,"summary":false},"blockCreatedOn":1779782398000,"blockCreatedOnDisplay":"09.59 CEST","blockLastUpdated":1779782509000,"blockLastUpdatedDisplay":"10.01 CEST","blockFirstPublished":1779782509000,"blockFirstPublishedDisplay":"10.01 CEST","blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone":"10.01","title":"'Unprecedented event with 1/1000 chance of happening' as record-breaking heatwave hits Europe","contributors":[],"primaryDateLine":"Tue 26 May 2026 14.02 CEST","secondaryDateLine":"First published on Tue 26 May 2026 09.47 CEST"},{"id":"6a1548ef8f080414a3d9b287","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
US secretary of state Marco Rubio said that the war in Ukraine “needs to come to an end,” after his conversation with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.","elementId":"a67d202c-8350-4ba6-8c01-1de2adda99b0"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Responding to the strikes on Kyiv over the weekend and repeated warnings about more attacks planned in the coming days, Rubio said:","elementId":"ae5b2d0f-b859-4900-ae97-37a760c5b7a2"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
Rubio said that Lavrov wanted to reiterate his warning to the US to pull its diplomats from the Ukrainian capital, but appeared to downplay it, saying:","elementId":"392c0561-88e4-4b43-b9f3-e4f5ef8f21f6"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“They sent a notice to all the embassies, and I think he was just calling me personally to tell me – they told all the embassies to – Kyiv’s going to be a very dangerous place – Kyiv’s been a very dangerous place now for a number of years.”\n","elementId":"c1f2a506-f553-4f96-8210-e72e067c8ac5"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
Despite the warning, several European diplomats insisted they would stay put in the capital, including the EU’s ambassador Katarina Mathernova.","elementId":"05c9a39a-1263-4593-8758-995da56a2889"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":"
But Rubio cautioned against the threat of further escalation:","elementId":"84a3e9b8-199b-451f-ba84-1cf97cb31ac9"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement","html":"\n
“Look, the danger in all of these wars as they continue and then they go on is that they always have the threat of escalation, of spreading into something new.”\n","elementId":"596872fd-3a7c-4b93-8ecd-044ab4521880"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements
