One man or woman turned into killed and 19 passengers taken to health center whilst an inter-metropolis teach collided with a crane and derailed out of doors The Hague. Emergency offerings stated the teach turned into sporting approximately 50 human beings whilst the teach derailed close to the village of Voorschoten.
The coincidence turned into the worst on Dutch railways for years and King Willem-Alexander later visited the scene. Residents sorted a number of the passengers with minor injuries.
The crash took place at approximately 03:25 neighborhood time (01:25 GMT) on Tuesday, tearing aside the NS passenger teach and bringing down one of the overhead energy lines.
A items teach additionally collided with the crane, which turned into getting used for maintenance to 2 of 4 railway tracks close to Voorschoten.
The man or woman who died have been running for production enterprise BAM, a spokesperson confirmed. Some of the nineteen passengers had been in a critical condition. The passenger teach motive force turned into additionally hurt, however the items teach motive force turned into safe.
One of the passenger carriages careered down the grassy slope, even as every other remained at the tracks. Most of the double-decker inter-metropolis teach`s decrease home windows had been shattered.
“We heard a bang first after which later, a far extra excessive one,” one neighborhood resident instructed the AFP information agency. “Then we heard human beings screaming. It turned into now no longer good.”
“The crane turned into there for use for maintenance,” stated John Voppen, head of the authorities community frame ProRail. He stated he turned into 100% certain the crane turned into now no longer at the tracks being utilized by the trains, however turned into not able to mention how the 2 trains collided with it.
“I were running withinside the rail enterprise for years and I do not apprehend how this can have took place.”
Leiden Central station, which lies among The Hague and Amsterdam, has been closed. Trains are not going to be walking withinside the location for days due to harm to the track, defined as “enormous”.
“This is an extremely tragic coincidence,” stated Voorschoten Mayor Nadine Stemerdink. “We remorse there has been additionally a fatality. My mind exit to all of the own circle of relatives and buddies of these involved.”
Police have released an inquiry, as has the Dutch Safety Board, to be able to consciousness on how trains should have collided with a crane that turned into alleged to be on one in every of tracks taken out of provider for maintenance.
King Willem-Alexander visited the webweb page after thanking citizens who had opened their doorways to deal with passengers who did now no longer want health center treatment.
“Our mind are with the sufferers of the teach coincidence at Voorschoten and their families,” a assertion from the Royal House reads. “Many at the moment are in worry and uncertainty. We deeply sympathise with all of them.”
Prime Minister Mark Rutte additionally expressed his condolences. This form of incident is extraordinarily uncommon withinside the Netherlands, in which the rail structures are typically very safe.
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