One killed in train accident near The Hague in the Netherlands, 30 injured

AMSTERDAM – At least one person was killed, and 30 injured, many seriously, when a passenger train carrying about 50 people derailed in the Netherlands early on Tuesday after hitting a construction crane, officials said.

The victim was an employee of Dutch construction group BAM, reported national news agency ANP.

Rescue teams were seen ferrying away the injured in pre-dawn darkness at the scene of the accident in Voorschoten, a village near The Hague.

The accident happened around 3.25am local time, the emergency services said.

Nineteen people were taken to hospital. Others were being treated on the spot, the emergency services said.

Dutch Railways NS chief executive Wouter Koolmees said at a news conference that the driver of the passenger train is in the hospital with bone fractures.

Emergency services said the front carriage of the night train from Leiden city to The Hague had derailed and ploughed into a field, while the second carriage was on its side.

A fire that broke out near the train was promptly extinguished.

Earlier reports said the passenger train had collided with a freight train.

Dutch Railways spokesman Erik Kroeze said a freight train carrying chalk was involved in the accident, but could not give details.

Mr Jeroen Wienen, a spokesman for ProRail, which maintains the railway network, said several investigations had been initiated, including by the company itself, the police and the Dutch Safety Board, which looks into serious accidents.

“Fortunately enough, this is a very, very unique accident, but it’s a horrible accident,” Mr Wienen told Reuters at the site of the accident.

“We at ProRail are doing the investigation primarily to see what happened and how we can avoid this in the future,” he said, adding: “Everybody’s really shaken up.”

ProRail chief executive John Voppen said during a news briefing that the maintenance work was planned and standard, adding: “We have no idea how the crane got on the track which was still open for traffic.”

Ms Ingrid de Roos, from the Hollands Midden emergency services, said “there was just panic” on the train after it derailed.

She added that emergency services were quick to arrive and evacuate people.

“In an hour all the people, all the injured had been transported to hospitals,” she told Reuters.

Dutch Railways said in a tweet that trains between Leiden and parts of The Hague were cancelled due to the accident.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Netherlands’ royal family were among those who expressed their sympathy for the victims.

“My thoughts are with the relatives and with all the victims. I wish them all the best,” Mr Rutte said in a tweet.

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima said: “We deeply sympathise with all of them.” REUTERS