At least 10 people were killed and 55 were injured after a freight train hit a two-storey bus at an intersection near Mexico City on Monday, authorities said.
The accident occurred in the town of Atlacomulco, northwest of the Mexican capital.
The bus from the Heradura de Plata Line, which reportedly carried 51 passengers, was torn apart by a collision after it was reportedly attempting to overtake other vehicles at the intersection. The bus driver is in custody.
Injuries between the ages of 19 and 48 were taken to hospitals throughout the state, local media said. Authorities have not publicly identified the victims.
Videos circulated on social media show that the bus was slowly moving along the train tracks in congestion as it crashed into a bus at a midpoint and sheared in half. The train’s momentum dragged the vehicle along the tracks for a few meters.
Witnesses had no visible crossing gates or other stops, the witness said. One man working at a service station near the intersection added that the train blew its corner well before the intersection.
The rail line, Canada’s Pacific, Mexico, Canada, confirmed the accident and sent the sad dol to the victim’s family. Canada-based Calgary said its personnel are on the scene and is working with authorities.
The company urged people to respect the signal and not risk the lives of other citizens. The bus driver accused him of “overtaking the train.”
According to the latest report from the Mexican Railway Traffic Control Agency published in September, accidents at grade-level intersections are the most common and have been increasing in recent years.
Last year there were 800 compared to 602 in 2020, the report said. The document did not include the number of victims involved in the accident.
Six people were killed last month when the train struck several vehicles in Guanafuato. In 2019, nine people were killed when a freight train attacked a passenger bus crossing the central state tracks in Queretaro.
