MEXICO CITY — A government investigation into the cause of Sunday’s fatal derailment of Mexico’s Interoceanic Train has begun, with President Claudia Sheinbaum ordering the federal Attorney General’s Office to lead that inquiry, according to the news site Quinto Poder (Fifth Estate).
Thirteen people were killed when the train derailed Sunday morning near Nizanda in Oaxaca state [see “At least 13 dead …,” Trains.com, Dec. 29, 2025]. Those killed range in age from 6 to 70, according to a list released by Mexico’s Interior Ministry. Updated figures report 109 were injured, with 44 of those requiring hospitalization. As of today (Dec. 30), 36 of those are reportedly still hospitalized, with some transferred to Mexico City for further treatment.
The Attorney General’s Office said in a Monday statement that it had begun interviewing victims of the derailment. Technical experts are involved in inspections of the train and accident scene and collecting of evidence; other agencies involved in the investigation include the Oaxaca Attorney General’s Office, the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transport, the Railway Transport Regulatory Agency, and the Secretariat of the Navy.
The Mexican Navy is involved and has been in charge of the accident scene because it is the parent agency of the government-owned Ferrocarril del Istmo de Tehuantapec. Secretary of the Navy Adm. Raymundo Petro Morales Ángeles said Monday that Navy has secured the train’s onboard data recorder, which records the train’s speed and other operating information.
Quinto Poder also reports that operating procedures for the line call for an inspection of the route by hi-rail vehicle 90 minutes before the train’s departure, and that inspection found no issues, according to Morales Ángeles.
Sheinbaum, accompanied by Morales Ángeles and other officials, visited the injured at hospitals in Oaxaca state on Monday. Sheinbaum also announced that the families affected will receive immediate financial support of 30,000 pesos ($1,668) to cover urgent expenses, as well as government coverage of funeral expenses and the transport of bodies, SDP Noticias reports.
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