One dead and 30 injured after passenger train derails in the Netherlands

Josh Salisbury4 April 2023

One person has been killed and around 30 injured after a train partially derailed in the Netherlands near the Hague early on Tuesday.

The front carriage of the night train from Leiden city to The Hague derailed and ploughed into a field after the crash, Dutch media reported.

The cause of the accident, around 3.25am (2.25am BST) in the town of Voorschoten was not immediately clear.

Local media reported there had been a small construction crane on the tracks.

TV reports showed a person using makeshift bridges to cross a canal running alongside the rails to reach the stricken train in the darkness.

Many windows in the train carriages were broken, but it was not clear if that happened during the accident or as passengers attempted to escape.

One dead and several injured in train accident Voorschoten
ANP/AFP via Getty Images

Injured passengers were treated in homes near the rails and transported in a fleet of ambulances to hospitals, including to a “calamity hospital" opened in the central city of Utrecht.

“This is an incredibly tragic accident. I sympathise with the victims. Unfortunately, there is also a fatality to mourn. My thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved,” Voorschoten Mayor Nadine Stemerdink said in a statement.

Ingrid de Roos, a spokeswoman for local fire services, told news show WNL that a small fire broke out at the rear of the train but was quickly extinguished.

John Voppen, CEO of the rail network company Pro Rail, called the crash “a black day for Dutch railways and said the cause was under investigation.

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