The derailment of a high-speed train carrying passengers killed at least one person and injured 30, including 19 seriously, on Tuesday in Voorschoten, between The Hague and Amsterdam in the south of the Netherlands, announced the emergency services.
“One person died and at least thirty others were injured. Eleven people were collected from local residents, while the seriously injured were taken to hospital,” the same source said.
This double-decker train carrying around 60 passengers derailed around 3:30 a.m. (0130 GMT) after hitting construction equipment on the track in the small town of Voorschoten, located about eight km north of The Hague , according to the emergency services.
“Specialists are at work to secure the train,” they added, adding that the cause of the accident was “under investigation.”
Footage of the crash shows a first lead car in a field it plowed on the way and a second leaning to the side after also derailing.
A third car remained on the tracks and a fourth caught fire, reported the Dutch news agency ANP.
Traffic on this line which serves cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris has been interrupted and will not resume until Tuesday afternoon, according to Dutch railway officials.
rescue helicopter
Ambulances were immediately sent to the scene, including a rescue helicopter to transport the most seriously injured. The severity of their injuries was not immediately known.
“We heard a huge shock and suddenly the lights went out,” an unidentified witness told local television Omroep West.
“We couldn’t get out of the train right away because there was no more electricity,” added this man, visibly in a state of shock. “We finally got out after what felt like hours.”
The worst train disaster in the Netherlands dates back to January 8, 1962 when two passenger trains collided at Harmelen, near the central city of Utrecht, killing 93 and injuring 52.
The accident had occurred in thick fog and the driver of one of the two trains had not seen a traffic sign.
In 2016, a train hit a construction crane in the center of the country, killing one and injuring six. In 2012, a train accident near Amsterdam also left one dead and 117 injured.
Tuesday’s accident comes after the almost simultaneous derailments Friday in Switzerland, during a strong storm, of two regional trains (15 injured).
In Greece on February 28, a train disaster killed 57 people, deeply shocking this entire country.