13 Killed As Train Derails In Southern Mexico

At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured after a passenger train derailed in southern Mexico, disrupting traffic along a key rail corridor linking the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interoceanic Train, which connects the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz, went off the rails on Sunday while navigating a curve near the town of Nizanda.

Authorities said the accident occurred with 241 passengers and nine crew members onboard.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the death toll in a post on X, saying 98 people were injured, including five in serious condition.

“The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident,” Sheinbaum wrote.

She said she had directed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights from the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the scene to oversee emergency response efforts and personally assist affected families.

Oaxaca State Governor Salomon Jara said multiple government agencies were deployed to the site to provide medical care and support to the injured, adding that emergency services were working to stabilise the situation.

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 under former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador as part of a broader effort to revive rail transport in southern Mexico and develop infrastructure across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.

The narrow land bridge is central to government plans to create a strategic trade corridor connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

The rail service currently runs between the
Pacific port city of Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico, covering about 180 miles (290 kilometres).

Officials did not immediately provide details on what caused the derailment, but said investigations are ongoing.