Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Dutch rail crash: One dead after passenger train hits crane and derails

Dutch rail crash: One dead after passenger train hits crane and derails

One person was killed and 19 passengers taken to hospital when an inter-city train collided with a crane and derailed outside The Hague.

Emergency services said the train was carrying about 50 people when the train derailed near the village of Voorschoten.

The accident was the worst on Dutch railways for years and King Willem-Alexander later visited the scene.

Residents looked after some of the passengers with minor injuries.

The crash happened at about 03:25 local time (01:25 GMT) on Tuesday, tearing apart the NS passenger train and bringing down one of the overhead power lines.

A goods train also collided with the crane, which was being used for repairs to two of four railway tracks near Voorschoten.

The person who died had been working for construction company BAM, a spokesperson confirmed. Some of the 19 passengers were in a serious condition. The passenger train driver was also hurt, but the goods train driver was safe.

One of the passenger carriages careered down the grassy slope, while another remained on the tracks. Most of the double-decker inter-city train's lower windows were shattered.

"We heard a bang first and then later, a much more intense one," one local resident told the AFP news agency. "Then we heard people screaming. It was not good."

"The crane was there to be used for maintenance," said John Voppen, head of the government network body ProRail. He said he was 100% sure the crane was not on the tracks being used by the trains, but was unable to say how the two trains collided with it.

"I have been working in the rail industry for years and I don't understand how this could have happened."

A cordon has been set up around the site of the crash


Leiden Central station, which lies between The Hague and Amsterdam, has been closed. Trains are unlikely to be running in the area for days because of damage to the track, described as "enormous".

"This is an incredibly tragic accident," said Voorschoten Mayor Nadine Stemerdink. "We regret there was also a fatality. My thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved."

Police have launched an inquiry, as has the Dutch Safety Board, which will focus on how two trains could have collided with a crane that was supposed to be on one of two tracks taken out of service for maintenance.

King Willem-Alexander visited the site after thanking residents who had opened their doors to treat passengers who did not need hospital treatment.

"Our thoughts are with the victims of the train accident at Voorschoten and their families," a statement from the Royal House reads. "Many are now in fear and uncertainty. We deeply sympathise with all of them."

Prime Minister Mark Rutte also expressed his condolences.

This sort of incident is extremely rare in the Netherlands, where the rail systems are generally very safe.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Budapest Post
Close
0:00
0:00
Spain soccer kiss: Furore grows as prosecutors launch probe against federation chief
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Greek PM offers tourists affected by wildfires a free stay in Rhodes next year.
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
How “peacekeepers” at the UN spend our American tax dollars.
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Muslim Tycoon Asif Aziz Receives Approval for the Transformation of the iconic London Trocadero Landmark into Mosque
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
Europe is boiling: Extreme Weather Conditions Prevail Across the Continent
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu Hospitalized Due to Dehydration Amidst Summer Heatwave
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
×