Is this a real photo of a train crash in Buggenhout, Belgium in which a van carrying special needs children was hit by a train on May 26, 2026? No, that's not true: The image published by a website named NRIPage contained a SynthID watermark, indicating it was generated using AI. It also contained several artifacts and false details that do not correspond to the reality of the accident, such as a misplaced barrier and the wrong weather.
The image appeared in an article (archived here) published by NRIPage on May 26, 2026 in an article titled "Buggenhout Train Crash: Four Dead After Train Hits School Bus at Belgium Level Crossing" that opened:
A serious train crash in Buggenhout, Belgium, has left four people dead after a train struck a school minibus at a level crossing on Tuesday morning, May 26, 2026. The accident happened in the town of Buggenhout, located north of Brussels, during the busy morning travel period.
The minibus was carrying schoolchildren along with adults when it reached the railway crossing. Shortly after, the vehicle was hit by an approaching train. Emergency services rushed to the scene, and the area was quickly sealed off as rescue teams, police, and railway officials began their work.
The story contained this image:
(Image source: article at NRIPage)
The accident it described did happen, according to Belgian public broadcaster VRT (archived here): two children aged 12 and 15 and two adults were killed when their van was hit by a train at a crossing and overturned. But local news coverage shows the van was white and the weather was clear at the time of the accident:
(Image source: collage contrasting VRT news image & NRIPage image)
An AI detector run by AI company OpenAI found evidence the NRIPage image was generated using their tools based on the presence of a watermark (results archived here):
Generated with OpenAI tools
This content was generated using OpenAI tools. The signals below provide supporting evidence for this result.SynthID detected
We found a SynthID watermark that originated from OpenAI.
Even without that it is clear the image is not real: the barrier in the image is situated in a nonsensical position, the mechanism for it and the red light are situated directly in the path of the train and the electrical cables of the train extend over the roadway instead of over the train tracks:
(Image source: article at NRIPage, annotations by Lead Stories)
