13 Dead, Scores Injured As Interoceanic Train Derails In Mexico

Oaxaca, Dec 29: At least 13 people were killed and dozens injured after an Interoceanic Train derailed near the town of Nizanda in Mexico’s southern state of Oaxaca, authorities said on Sunday.

The Mexican Navy said the train was carrying around 250 people, including nine crew members and 241 passengers, when the accident occurred. Of those onboard, 98 sustained injuries, with 36 receiving medical treatment, while 193 were reported to be out of danger.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said in a post on X that five of the injured were in critical condition. She added that senior government officials have been dispatched to the site to assist the injured and support families of the victims.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the derailment to determine its cause, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said.

The Interoceanic Train, inaugurated in 2023 under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. The project aims to modernise rail connectivity between the Pacific port of Salina Cruz and Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico.

The corridor is a flagship infrastructure initiative intended to boost trade, expand ports and railways, and promote industrial development in southern Mexico, offering a potential alternative route to the Panama Canal. (Agencies)