Dead and at least thirty injured in serious train accident in Voorschoten, Prime Minister Rutte expresses condolences

One operator injured in collision, others OK

The driver of the passenger train involved in the accident was injured, NS reports. The railway company did not say how serious the injuries are.

The other driver, who was driving the freight train, is doing well. Freight transporter DB Cargo said this to the ANP news agency after a medical examination. The train driver is now going home and, according to the rail transport company, will receive “all aftercare that is necessary” for processing the traumatic event.

Two seriously injured admitted to LUMC in Leiden

After the train accident at Voorschoten, two seriously injured patients were taken to the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). This is reported by the ANP news agency. Victims of the train accident have also been admitted to the Alrijne Hospital in Leiderdorp.

Security region Hollands Midden previously reported that at least one person was killed and that several were seriously injured. About 20 people were treated at the scene for their injuries.

Minister and State Secretary for Infrastructure sympathize with victims and railway employees

minister Mark Harbers (VVD) and State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen (CDA) of Infrastructure and Water Management cancel in an initial response Twitter that they sympathize with all victims, relatives and those involved in the “terrible accident”. Harbers expresses his appreciation for the emergency services and Heijnen says that his thoughts are also with the rail and train employees who experienced the accident.

Crane of construction company BAM involved in train accident part of work

The construction crane that a passenger and freight train collided with near Voorschoten on Tuesday morning belonged to construction company BAM, a spokesman for the company reported to the ANP news agency. BAM was involved in construction work on that part of the track. BAM does not want to disclose further details about the accident to ANP. It is not clear exactly how the equipment ended up on the track.

‘I heard screams, shouts and names being called’

NRCreporter Oscar Vermeer is on site in Voorschoten. He spoke to resident Rebecca Ooms who woke up around half past four by a loud bang, she lives right opposite the railway. Looking out the window, she heard another loud bang that “struck the house” and saw a flash of light.

“I heard screams, shouts and names being called.” A number of slightly injured people were taken care of in her house, while the seriously injured were taken care of by the emergency services. “There was a doctor from the area who stitched someone up here. It was very intense.”

Ooms caught and spoke to one of the train drivers. “He said: I drove into a construction crane, which fell to the side on the other track, and the NS train then drove into it.”

NS director Koolmees calls for ‘sound research’

NS director Wouter Koolmees has reacted with shock to the train accident and says that ‘proper investigation’ must be done. “Like everyone else, I am full of questions and we want to know exactly what happened.”

Leiden station closed due to ‘irresponsible crowds’

Leiden Central Station is closed due to irresponsible crowds. That reports the Security region Hollands Midden. Due to the train accident, no trains will run to and from Leiden until at least 4 p.m. Travelers must arrange alternate transportation to arrive at their destination.

Mayor Voorschoten responds to accident

“Incredibly tragic,” says mayor Nadine Stemerdink of the municipality of Voorschoten about the accident a statement. “I sympathize with the victims. Unfortunately, there is also a fatality to regret. My thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved.”

According to the ANP news agency, Stemerdink will give a press conference about the train accident together with ProRail and the Dutch Railways at 9.30 am.

‘I can’t remember a rail accident of this caliber in the Netherlands’

NRC editor Titia Ketelaar reports on the accident on the spot:

The double-decker train hangs crookedly on the rails, two compartments stand as if they wanted to drive into the meadow next to the track. Broken windows, a blackened part of a crane is a bit further on the track, and then a freight train.

“I cannot remember a rail accident of this caliber in the Netherlands,” says Annemarie Moeijes of the Hollands-Midden Security Region. She says ambulances from all over the region have been transporting victims – 19 have been taken to hospital, 11 of them to an emergency hospital in Utrecht. The fatal victim has yet to be recovered.

Investigators from ProRail, the Dutch Safety Board, the Human Environment Inspectorate and the Report are walking on the track. They do forensics. They have built a bridge to reach the railway from the cycle path, over the ditch.

Royal couple sympathizes with victims of train accident

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima leave on Twitter know that they sympathize “intensely” with the victims of the accident at Voorschoten. “Our thoughts are with the victims of the train accident at Voorschoten and their families,” the royal couple wrote on the Twitter account of the Royal House. “Many are now in fear and uncertainty.”

Collision with a crane on the track possible cause of train accident

In the accident on Tuesday morning in Voorschoten, both a passenger train and a freight train hit a construction crane on the track near Voorschoten. ProRail reports this according to the ANP news agency. According to a spokesman, work was underway, but it is not yet known exactly how the equipment ended up on the track.

One person died in the train accident. Nineteen people have been taken to hospital and twenty people are being treated at the scene. Eleven people are taken care of in surrounding homes. earlier spoke to the Dutch Central Security Region of several seriously injured. How many there are is not yet known. Part of the train ended up in the meadow, part of the middle part is on the track and part on its side. The part that is still on the track is badly damaged. After the accident, a fire raged in the rear part of the train, which is said to have been extinguished by now. The freight train was also damaged.

NS: No trains to and from Leiden

The NS reports that there is no trains driving to and from Leiden Central station due to the collision. “We will drive according to an adjusted timetable until the malfunction is resolved,” the carrier reports.

Travelers who have to travel from Leiden to The Hague can use the Hague tram line 3 or 4 or stop buses.

The trains between Schiphol Airport and Rotterdam Central are full and the travel time may be longer because trains there take a different route as a result of the accident.

Center of silence for relatives of victims opened

NRCeditor Bram Endedijk is on site in the emergency hospital in Utrecht.

A silence center of the hospital has been made available for relatives of the victims. ‘Relatives reception calamities hospital’, is written on a laminated note. An emergency hospital has been set up within the walls of the UMC Utrecht. This is a fully operational hospital that can be opened within thirty minutes in the event of major disasters and accidents.

More than a hundred victims can be treated in the emergency hospital. A spokesman for the UMC confirmed on Tuesday morning that the hospital is operational, but could not yet say how many injured people are being cared for. Last November there was still practiced in the emergency hospital.

Rutte expresses condolences on Twitter after a train accident

Prime Minister Mark Rutte (VVD) has in a tweet expressed its condolences to the relatives and victims of the train accident in Voorschoten. He regrets that one person died and that many people were injured. “My thoughts are with the relatives and with all the victims. I wish them all the best.”

ProRail top driver: ‘Black day for the Dutch railways’

ProRail top director John Voppen speaks of a “black day for the Dutch railway” because of the train accident near Voorschoten on Tuesday morning. “My thoughts go out to everyone involved in this,” says Voppen in response to the serious train accident near Voorschoten on Tuesday morning. One person has been killed in the accident so far. About thirty people were injured, nineteen of whom were taken to hospital.

The railway manager also indicates that a crane is involved in the accident, but it is still unclear what the role of this crane is in the cause. It would be a construction crane belonging to a contractor, which, according to an ANP reporter, is tilted on the track on site.