Train Derailment in Southern Mexico Kills 13, Injures Nearly 100

Over the weekend, a deadly accident in the Mexican state of Oaxaca left at least 13 people dead after a passenger train operating on the Interoceanic Corridor derailed.

Mexico's Navy said on Dec. 28 that the crash happened around 9:30 a.m., when a locomotive derailed and pulled four railcars off the tracks. Navy Secretary Raymundo Pedro Morales said 13 people were killed and 98 others were injured, with 44 still hospitalized.

Morales said authorities are still working to recover the body of one victim at the scene.

He added that all evidence is under custody, including a Pulse device he described as a "railway black box," which records speed, acceleration, braking and other key data used to reconstruct how the train was operating before the crash.

Following the derailment, Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos said the Federal Attorney General's Office opened an investigation to determine what caused the accident.

"Federal prosecutors in Oaxaca, along with forensic and investigative personnel from the AIC, are coordinating with federal and state authorities to carry out the necessary investigative work," Godoy said in a post on X.

President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that authorities will conduct a "rigorous" analysis, including a review of the railway black box, to determine the cause of Sunday's derailment of the Interoceanic Train in Oaxaca.

During her morning news conference on Dec. 29, Sheinbaum stressed the need to fully understand what led to the crash before drawing conclusions and said she plans to travel to the area to meet with victims' families.

So far, the cause of the derailment remains unknown. As reported by El País, Morales said that about 90 minutes before the train departed, a track inspection vehicle confirmed there were no obstructions, structural issues or deformities, and that the line was clear for operation.

In a video circulating on social media, one passenger said the train appeared to be traveling at a high speed before the crash. "We felt the train was going very fast. We don't know if it lost its brakes," the passenger said.

In response, the president said it will be up to prosecutors to determine the cause of the crash and confirmed that authorities now have access to the black box to verify the train's speed.

"We shouldn't speculate. I also saw the video from the passenger, but we're going to let prosecutors do their job. The black box shows the speed and everything that happened during this process. That information needs to be reviewed to determine exactly what occurred," Sheinbaum said when asked about the video.