Interoceanic Train Partially Derails in Oaxaca, Thirteen Killed

At least 13 people are dead and 98 are injured after an Interoceanic passenger and freight train operated by the Mexican Navy partially derailed in Oaxaca on Monday, December 29, 2025. Officials place the derailment in the Nizanda area, with several accounts saying it occurred as the locomotive rounded a bend between Chivela and Nizanda on the line running toward Coatzacoalcos.

The Navy says 250 people were on board, including 241 passengers and nine crew members. Of the 98 injured, officials say 36 are receiving hospital care and that five are in serious condition, a figure cited by President Claudia Sheinbaum. Early Navy statements had reported far fewer injuries before the tally was revised upward as rescue and triage operations continued. Counts of those described as out of danger vary in public statements, reflecting evolving information during the emergency response.

Federal and state emergency services converged on the scene. Mexican Army soldiers, Civil Protection teams and medical personnel assisted with rescues, evacuations and the transfer of the wounded to hospitals across Oaxaca. President Sheinbaum said she had directed the Secretary of the Navy and senior officials to travel to the site to support rescue operations and to assist the families of victims. Oaxaca Governor Salomón Jara Cruz expressed condolences and said state authorities were coordinating with federal agencies.

Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the accident. Attorney General Ernestina Godoy Ramos posted that the Fiscalía General de la República is investigating to determine the cause. Federal investigators on site will examine track conditions, the train’s mechanical state and operational records as they seek to determine whether human error, infrastructure failure, maintenance shortcomings or other factors contributed to the derailment.

The Interoceanic Train was inaugurated in 2023 as a major infrastructure initiative designed to carry passengers and cargo between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast, a project that became a central plank of national development efforts under former president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The accident will intensify scrutiny of the line’s operating procedures, oversight mechanisms and safety standards, already salient topics in debates over large scale transport projects in Mexico.

Beyond the immediate human toll, the derailment threatens to disrupt logistics on a route conceived to relieve pressure on the Panama Canal corridor and to boost regional commerce. Federal investigators and transport authorities face pressure to deliver rapid, transparent findings so families can receive answers and measures can be enacted to prevent a recurrence.

Officials say updates to casualty figures and the status of the injured will be released as the rescue and medical response continues. The Fiscalía’s inquiry is expected to set a timetable for preliminary findings, while the Navy and state authorities continue search and assistance work in the affected communities.