13 killed, dozens injured as Interoceanic Train derails in southern Mexico

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said 13 people died and another 98 were injured when a train derailed on a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails on Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda. The accident halted traffic along the line.

"The Mexican Navy has informed me that, tragically, 13 people died in the Interoceanic Train accident," Sheinbaum posted on X, adding that 98 people are injured, five of them seriously.

She said she has instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary of human rights of the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the site and personally assist the families.

In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the site of the accident to assist the injured.

Officials said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push to boost train travel in southern Mexico, and develop infrastructure along the isthmus of Tehuantepec, a narrow stretch of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade, with ports and rail lines that can connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Interoceanic Train currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles (290 kilometres).