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An Interoceanic Train carrying 250 people derailed in the southern state of Oaxaca, killing at least 13 people and injuring dozens, said Mexican authorities on Sunday.

The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda, officials said, adding that traffic was halted as a result along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.

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

Sheinbaum said she 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.

The Mexican navy said the train was carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members, of which 193 were reported to be out of danger. The derailment occurred between the towns of Chivela and Nizanda, they added.

 

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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.

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

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 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. It forms a part of the Interoceanic Corridor project.

The Mexican government plans to turn the isthmus into a strategic corridor for international trade akin to the Panama Canal, 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 kilometers).