A train derailment in southern Mexico on Sunday killed at least 13 people and injured 98 others, 36 of whom required hospitalization—including five in serious condition. The accident involved the Trans-Isthmian Train, a key passenger line of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec (CIIT, in Spanish).
The Navy Secretariat (Semar, in Spanish), has deployed 360 naval personnel, 20 vehicles, four ground ambulances, three air ambulances, and one tactical drone, for the search and rescue efforts, according to its report.
RELATED: Mexico Launches Justice Plan for Cananea Miners
The incident occurred on Line Z of the railway, which connects Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, with Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz—a strategic segment of the flagship infrastructure project linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
One survivor traveling in the last carriage, meanwhile, reported that the train “was going very fast” and that he feared it may have lost brake control. “We felt the train was going very fast; we don’t know if the brakes failed,” he stated.
According Semar there were 250 people on board the train: 241 passengers and nine crew members, distributed across two locomotives and four carriages. After the accident, 139 people are out of danger, while 62 have no serious injuries.
#MarinaInforma pic.twitter.com/2oeIXXuRfA
— SEMAR México (@SEMAR_mx) December 28, 2025
The Attorney General’s Office (FGR, in Spanish) reported that it has already launched an investigation to clarify the causes of the accident. Agents from the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC, in Spanish) are working together with federal and state authorities to carry out the corresponding inquiries.
On that line, Governor of Oaxaca Salomon Jara Cruz announced through social media that his administration is working closely with federal agencies to assist the victims. “The state government reaffirms its support and accompaniment to the affected persons and their families (…) in coordination with federal and municipal authorities, until the situation is fully addressed,” he said.
Me informa la Secretaría de Marina que en el accidente del Tren Interoceánico lamentablemente fallecieron 13 personas; 98 están lesionadas, cinco de ellas de gravedad. Los heridos se encuentran en hospitales del IMSS en Matías Romero y Salina Cruz, así como de IMSS-Bienestar en…
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) December 29, 2025
Second derailment of the Trans-Isthmian Train in a month
The tragic event marks the second derailment of the Trans-Isthmian Train in less than a month. The first occurred on December 8 in the municipality of Juan Rodriguez Clara, also in Veracruz. On that occasion, the train was transporting only liquid chlorine and silica sand, and although the locomotive and four carriages left the tracks, no injuries or dangerous leaks were reported.
The Trans-Isthmian Train was inaugurated on December 22, 2023, by then-President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and forms part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec—a project designed to boost international trade by connecting Pacific and Atlantic ports through freight and passenger trains.
As announced at its launch, the project aims to facilitate commercial exchange between Asia, the U.S. East Coast, and Europe.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.