Four people, including two children, have been killed in a crash between a train and a bus in northern Belgium, officials said.
Five children were taken to hospital in a serious condition, they said.
The accident happened at a level crossing during the morning rush hour near the town of Buggenhout, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) north-west of Brussels, on Tuesday.
Details about how the incident unfolded were not immediately clear.
Belgian private broadcaster VTM said that four people were killed, but police would not confirm whether there were any deaths “out of respect for the families of those implicated”.
VTM said the barriers at the level crossing were closed but that the bus appeared to try to cross anyway and was hit by the train.
Rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium (Koen Baten/AP)
(Koen Baten)
Seven schoolchildren were aboard the minibus, with a driver and an escort.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene said the badly damaged bus lay toppled on its side.
Forensic experts in protective white suits and wearing gloves were taking photos of the scene with a white pop-up tent erected nearby.
The train was relatively unscathed.
Rescue workers on the scene of a crash between a train and vehicle in Buggenhout, Belgium, (Koen Baten/AP)
(Koen Baten)
In a social media post, Belgian interior minister Bernard Quintin expressed “great sadness” over “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.”