13 killed, 98 injured as train derails in southern Mexico

MEXICO CITY — Mexican authorities said on Sunday that at least 13 people were killed after an Interoceanic Train carrying 250 people derailed in the southern state of Oaxaca.

The Mexican Navy said the train, which derailed near the town of Nizanda, was carrying nine crew members and 241 passengers.

Of those on board, 139 were reported to be out of danger, while 98 were injured, including 36 who were receiving medical assistance.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said on X that five of the injured were in critical condition, adding that senior officials had been dispatched to the site to assist the families of those killed.

The governor of Oaxaca, Salomon Jara Cruz, expressed condolences to the families of those killed in the accident and said the state authorities were coordinating with federal agencies to assist those affected.

Mexico's Attorney General's Office has opened an investigation into the incident, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said in a social media post.

The Interoceanic Train, inaugurated in 2023 under former president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, forms part of the broader Interoceanic Corridor project.

The initiative was designed to modernize the rail link across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, connecting Mexico's Pacific port of Salina Cruz with Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf Coast.

Agencies Via Xinhua