Authorities work at the site of a train derailment on the Interoceanic Corridor of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a railway line connecting Mexico's Pacific and Gulf coasts, where several passengers were killed and injured near Nizanda, Oaxaca state, Mexico, on Dec. 28, 2025. Jose De Jesus Cortes / REUTERS

Officials said a train accident in southern Mexico killed at least 13 people and injured dozens, halting traffic along a rail line connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico.

The Interoceanic Train linking the states of Oaxaca and Veracruz went off the rails Sunday as it passed a curve near the town of Nizanda.

"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 were injured, five of them seriously.

She 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.

In a message on X Sunday, Oaxaca state Gov. Salomon Jara said several government agencies had reached the accident site to assist the injured.

Officials said 241 passengers and nine crew members were on the train when the accident occurred.

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 by then President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. The rail service is part of a broader push 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.

The Mexican government 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 currently runs from the port of Salina Cruz on the Pacific Ocean to Coatzacoalcos, covering a distance of approximately 180 miles.

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