A passenger practice in the Netherlands rammed into a routine maintenance crane on the railway tracks early on Tuesday, killing the tools operator and injuring dozens of travellers as the practice derailed, officers and regional media mentioned.
The routine maintenance get the job done was prepared and typical, but “we have no notion how the crane acquired on the observe which was nevertheless open up for visitors”, John Voppen, the CEO of railway infrastructure business ProRail, mentioned at a news briefing.
Rescue groups ferried absent the hurt at the scene of the pre-dawn incident in Voorschoten, a village in the vicinity of The Hague. The incident took place at all around 3:twenty five a.m. (0125 GMT), unexpected emergency solutions mentioned.
Some of the hurt have been addressed on the location and some in close by residences, even though 19 have been taken to healthcare facility.
“The crane was element of routine maintenance get the job done on two tracks which have been shut for visitors, even though two other of the whole of 4 tracks remained open up for practice visitors,” ProRail’s Voppen mentioned.
Educate solutions will be suspended for times on a single of the busiest routes in the Netherlands, among The Hague and Leiden, because of to the incident, ProRail mentioned.
There will be various investigations to determine the motives for the crash and to established up avoidance steps, officers mentioned.
Jeroen Wienen, a spokesman for ProRail, mentioned a freight practice experienced strike the crane as nicely.
Dutch design team BAM verified that an staff experienced died in the incident.
The driver of the passenger practice is in healthcare facility with bone fractures, Dutch railways NS CEO Wouter Koolmees mentioned at the news meeting.
The entrance carriage of the evening practice from Leiden town to The Hague derailed and ploughed into a area, unexpected emergency solutions mentioned. The next carriage was on its aspect. A fireplace that broke out in the vicinity of the practice was instantly extinguished.
Ingrid de Roos, from the Hollands Midden unexpected emergency solutions, mentioned “there was just worry” on the practice right after it derailed. She mentioned unexpected emergency solutions have been swift to get there and evacuate individuals.
“In an hour all the individuals, all the hurt experienced been transported to hospitals,” she instructed Reuters.
Key Minister Mark Rutte and the Netherlands’ royal relatives have been among the these who expressed their sympathy for the victims.
“My views are with the family members and with all the victims. I want them all the finest,” Rutte mentioned in a tweet.
“We deeply sympathize with all of them,” King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima mentioned. Willem-Alexander later on frequented the website of the incident, about ten kilometres from his household palace.
