VOORSCHOTEN, Netherlands – A Dutch passenger practice rammed right into a upkeep crane that stood on the railway tracks early on Tuesday close to The Hague, killing the tools operator and injuring dozens of passengers because the practice derailed.
The upkeep work was deliberate and customary, however “we have no idea how the crane got on the track which was still open for traffic,” John Voppen, the CEO of railway infrastructure agency ProRail, instructed a news convention.
The entrance carriage of the night time practice from Leiden metropolis to The Hague – one of many Netherland’s busiest routes – hit the crane and derailed, ploughing right into a discipline by the village of Voorschoten, emergency companies mentioned.
A second carriage lay on its aspect. The double-decker practice’s home windows had been smashed.
“There was just panic” on the practice after the crash, however emergency companies had been fast to reach and evacuate folks, mentioned Ingrid de Roos from the Hollands Midden emergency companies.
Nineteen of these wounded had been taken to hospital, whereas a few of the others had been handled on the spot or in close by properties.
The accident occurred at round 3:25 a.m. (0125 GMT).
“The crane was part of maintenance work on two tracks which were closed for traffic, while two other of the total of four tracks remained open for train traffic,” mentioned ProRail’s Voppen.
“I have been working in the rail industry for years, and I don’t understand how this could have happened. We are going to launch a full inquiry.”
A freight practice had hit the crane as effectively, ProRail mentioned.
Train companies will likely be suspended for days on the route between The Hague and Leiden because of the incident.
Dutch building group BAM confirmed that an worker had died within the accident.
The driver of the passenger practice was in hospital with bone fractures, Dutch railways NS CEO Wouter Koolmees mentioned on the news convention.
Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the Netherlands’ royal household had been amongst those that expressed their sympathy for the victims.
“My thoughts are with the relatives and with all the victims. I wish them all the best,” Rutte mentioned in a tweet.
“We deeply sympathize with all of them,” King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima mentioned. Willem-Alexander later visited the positioning of the accident, about 10 kilometers from his residential palace. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
