Four people have died, including two children aged 12 and 15, after a train hit a school minibus in northern Belgium on Tuesday.The bus was transporting students from a special educational needs school, according to local news channel VRT NWS.The collision occurred on a closed-level crossing in the town of Buggenhout, East Flanders, about 20 miles northwest of the capital, Brussels.'With great dismay, I learnt of 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. I wish the injured much strength,' the country's interior minister Bernard Quintin wrote on X.'The impact was extremely violent,' said a spokesman for the rail network Infrabel, describing the toll as 'dramatic'.'It happened at around 8.08am when a minibus was struck by a train that was due to stop at the next station, which was about a kilometre away,' Frederic Sacre said.The Belgian police refused to confirm the casualty toll from the incident, saying only that 'several people' were hurt.There were nine people on the minibus at the time of the crash, including a driver, an attendant and seven children mostly of secondary school age. Four people have died, including two children aged 12 and 15, after a train hit a school minibus in northern Belgium on Tuesday Two other people were also severely injured in the collision The collision occurred on a closed-level crossing in the town of Buggenhout, East Flanders, about 20 miles northwest of the capital, BrusselsThe train was estimated to be travelling at about 75 miles per hour as it approached the crossing and had 'no time to brake', Sacre said.Police spokesperson An Berger said that the bus driver appeared to have ploughed through the train barrier.Infrabel said that the crossing was working correctly.A security camera there showed that the bus was still moving when the train hit it.'A tragic collision between a train and a school bus took place in Buggenhout this morning. Four people have been killed, including two children,' the country's deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot wrote on X.Photographs from the scene show emergency services working next to the minibus, which is on its side and has a crumpled bonnet.Federal Transport Minister Jean-Luc Crucke confirmed to RTL Info that two teenagers, the driver, and a chaperone were killed in the incident.'It's tragic,' he said. 'My first thoughts are with the victims, but also with those who were injured and their families.' Two other people were also severely injured, he added. Belgium's justice minister has said 'words fail' her following the fatal collision.Writing on social media, Annelies Verlinden said: 'My heartfelt sympathy goes out to all the victims, the children, their families and everyone affected by this tragedy today. 'I wish everyone much warm closeness. 'Thank you to the emergency services and the police for their swift intervention and their sustained efforts on site. 'The prosecutor's office is of course also continuing to follow up on this accident.'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. CCTV footage from the incident shows that the level crossing was shut, according to Infrabel spokesperson Thomas Baeken.'The barriers were down and the traffic lights were red. We do not know how the accident could have happened,' he said.'That is for the police and the public prosecutor’s office to investigate.‘We are, of course, cooperating with that investigation, because we want to understand how this tragic accident came about.’