Train derails in Voorschoten: one killed, thirty hurt
A passenger train derailed in Voorschoten last night after colliding with a crane on the track. There are one dead and about 30 injured, said the Hollands Midden Safety Region. Nineteen people were taken to hospital, including the driver of the train.
The emergency services rushed out en masse last night, including with a trauma helicopter. According to the safety region spokesperson, two of the four train carriages lay beside the tracks. The train was an intercity in which 50 to 60 people were sitting, NS said. Everyone has been removed from the train. Part of the train ended up in the meadow, the part still on the track was badly battered.
According to a railway spokesman, the train was on its way from Leiden to The Hague when it collided with a small construction crane at around 03.25 am. A fire broke out in a carriage, which could be quickly extinguished. It is unclear how the accident could happen. ProRail was working on the tracks at the site of the accident last night, a spokesman said. A goods train also collided with the construction equipment. The driver was the only one on board that train; he was slightly injured.
Eleven of the 30 injured were taken care of in surrounding homes. The seriously injured have been taken to hospitals. A train driver and two conductors were working in the NS passenger train. The train driver has broken bones and is in hospital, but is approachable. The conductors have minor injuries.
Investigations are occurring to find out exactly what went wrong and the train is being “secured” by specialists. Only once the train has been removed and the damage to and near the track repaired can train traffic resume there too.
