At least one person has died and 30 injured on Tuesday when a high-speed passenger train slammed into heavy construction equipment and derailed near The Hague.
According to Dutch emergency services, the double decker train was travelling between Amsterdam and The Hague and was carrying 60 people.
“One person has died and at least 30 people have been injured. The seriously injured are being taken to hospital, while 11 are at homes of nearby residents,” Hollands Midden emergency services said.
Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said it was a “terrible train accident” and confirmed that “unfortunately one person died and many people were injured”.
“My thoughts are with the relatives and with all the victims. I wish them all the best,” Rutte tweeted.
The CEO of Dutch rail network company, ProRail’s, John Voppen, said it was a “black day for the Dutch railways”.
Several ambulances and a helicopter were deployed to take seriously injured passengers to the hospital. Some victims were cared for in nearby homes, Dutch media said.
“The damage is massive, I have not seen anything like this. But fortunately, this does not happen often in the Netherlands,” ProRail spokesman Jeroen Wienen said.
“Several different investigations have now been started and we want to find out exactly what has happened.”
Emergency workers and rail staff in high-visibility jackets could be seen inspecting the scene of the crash throughout the morning, while a drone flew overhead.
