00:00I just want to take a few moments to remind you of the breaking news from the last few minutes.
00:03A collision between a train and a school bus in the Belgium town of Bougainhout this morning
00:08has reportedly killed several people.
00:11I'm seeing this is the location of Bougainhout.
00:14Like I say, it's around 29, 30 kilometres northwest of Brussels there, as you can see.
00:21So, relatively central Belgium.
00:23There is multiple reactions now from politicians in Belgium,
00:27including Anneliese Verlinden, the Justice Minister,
00:30who has said in a series of posts that words fail her,
00:33that her heartfelt sympathy is being passed to those affected,
00:37and that the prosecutor's office is following up.
00:39These are words from the Justice Minister.
00:42Meanwhile, a Belgian politician and member of the Flemish Parliament
00:47said that the incident occurred at a level crossing.
00:51And I'm just now looking at local media reporting.
00:54This is from VRT NWS, VRT News.
00:58It is the main news channel of the Flemish national broadcasting company, VRT.
01:03And they are reporting that there are multiple fatalities.
01:07Allegedly, seven schoolchildren and two adults were in the van.
01:12And like I say, we've understood from a Flemish minister
01:16that this incident took place at a level crossing.
01:19I'm seeing multiple now of the same images.
01:23So, let me just describe the picture for you.
01:25This has taken place in Bougainhout.
01:27You can see that on the map there on your screen.
01:29And it shows what appears to be a relatively clear day in the locality.
01:35There are two buildings to the side of what appear to be two running rails,
01:40two railway lines.
01:41They look to be houses.
01:43And then in front of that is what appears to be a white van on its side.
01:47And then I'm just looking at the responses here from the emergency services.
01:52There are several tents.
01:53There is a white screen erected in the front of the van.
01:57And to the side of that, there is at least two red tents that have been set up
02:03about 15 feet away from the van that lays on its side.
02:07You can see notable damage to the vehicle.
02:10I don't have an image of the train itself.
02:13And I can see several members of the emergency services in orange jackets.
02:19One is on his knees on the floor, unable to tell you exactly what they're referring
02:26or kind of dealing with.
02:28But this is information that's being reported by VRT News.
02:33Like I say, this is the Flemish National Broadcasting Company, VRT.
02:38Like I say, Sky News unable to independently verify all of these details.
02:42But this is the sense that we're getting from local news resources.
02:46And like I say, various politicians in the country saying that the incident has taken place,
02:52like we say, in Bougainhout and that several individuals have been impacted.
02:59Let's just bring you the details from the Justice Minister.
03:02This is Anneliese Verlinden, who says the words fail her after the collision
03:08between the train and the school bus.
03:11Posting online, Anneliese Verlinden saying this,
03:13My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all the victims, the children, their families,
03:16and everyone affected by this tragedy today.
03:19I wish everyone much warm closeness.
03:22Thank you to the emergency services and the police for their swift intervention
03:25and their sustained efforts on site.
03:27The prosecutor's office is, of course, also continuing to follow up on this incident.
03:32That, of course, is a natural course of events.
03:35The exact causation and the exact circumstances regarding this tragedy as it unfolds,
03:41as yet unclear.
03:43I'm hearing a little bit of reporting from the federal police
03:48saying that the school van was a school van for a special educational school
03:54and that it involves secondary school children.
03:57The exact ages and exact details to be determined.
04:00We will bring you more on this from Sky News, hearing from local media,
04:03but we will develop this story ourselves and bring you the full story first here on Sky.
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