A train carrying 250 people has derailed partially in southern Mexico, killing at least 13 people and injuring 98, according to officials. The Mexican Navy said that 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.
Mexican authorities said that 241 passengers and nine crew members were on board at the time of the accident, according to Mexican media reports.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that 98 people were injured in the derailment, five of whom were in serious condition.
In a statement posted on social media, she said she had instructed the secretary of the navy and the undersecretary for human rights at the Ministry of the Interior to travel to the scene and personally assist the victims and their families.
Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara said several government agencies were immediately deployed to the site to provide emergency assistance and medical support to the injured.
The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 under former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador as part of a broader strategy to revive rail transport in southern Mexico and develop infrastructure across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
Mexico 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 runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific to Coatzacoalcos, covering about 180 miles.
