At least 13 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured after a passenger train derailed in Mexico’s south-eastern Oaxaca region, authorities said, in one of the deadliest rail accidents in the country in recent years.

According to the Mexican Navy, which operates the national railway network, the Interoceanic train was carrying 241 passengers and nine crew members when it derailed near the town of Nizanda as it rounded a bend. The train was travelling along the Isthmus of Tehuantepec route, linking the Pacific port of Salina Cruz with Coatzacoalcos on the Gulf of Mexico.

Officials said 98 people were injured in the crash, with 36 receiving treatment in hospitals across the region. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that at least five of the injured were in serious condition, while others were treated for fractures, head injuries and trauma.

Emergency services, including navy personnel, civil protection teams and local authorities, were deployed immediately to the scene. Images from the site showed passenger cars off the tracks, with at least one carriage partially tilted over the edge of a cliff, as rescue workers assisted passengers and evacuated the wounded.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office confirmed that a formal investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the derailment. Preliminary reports indicate the train lost stability while navigating a curve, though officials said it was too early to rule out factors such as track conditions, mechanical failure or human error.

President Sheinbaum said senior federal officials, including the Secretary of the Navy, were travelling to Oaxaca to oversee the response and coordinate assistance for victims and their families. She added that the federal government would ensure full medical care for the injured and support for those affected.

Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz expressed “deep regret” over the tragedy and said state authorities were working closely with federal agencies to provide emergency aid, psychological support and logistical assistance.

The derailed train was part of the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a flagship infrastructure project inaugurated two years ago to stimulate economic development in southern Mexico. The initiative, launched under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, aims to modernise rail links across the isthmus and transform the region into a strategic trade corridor connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

The rail line is designed to carry both passengers and freight and forms part of a broader government push to expand railway transport, upgrade ports and attract industrial investment to historically underdeveloped areas of southern Mexico.

As of the latest official update, rescue operations at the site have concluded, and authorities say there is no indication of additional fatalities. Investigators are continuing their work, while rail services along the affected section of track remain suspended pending safety inspections. (ILKHA)