Early Tuesday morning, a tragic train accident occurred near The Hague, resulting in one person’s death and approximately 30 injuries. The collision involved a goods train and a passenger

train operated by NS, and a construction crane on the rail line in the village of Voorschoten.

According to the regional safety board for Hollands-Midden, around 50 people were on board the passenger train, which was travelling from the Leiden direction. One of the victims tragically died in the collision, and an emergency hospital was set up in Utrecht to treat 19 other victims. Another 20 people were treated at the scene, while two seriously injured individuals were transferred to the LUMC hospital in Leiden.

Anwar Akrouh, a passenger on the train, described the harrowing experience, stating that it felt like a film. He saw three people injured and heard the driver screaming, “It was incredibly intense.” Witnesses who lived next to the rail line reported that the goods train hit the crane first, followed shortly by the passenger train. They heard a loud bang and the sound of metal tearing.

The mayor of Voorschoten, Nadine Stemerdinck, expressed her condolences and sympathies to the victims and their families, calling the incident an “incredibly tragic accident.” She confirmed one fatality and said that her thoughts go out to all friends and relatives of those involved in the incident.

NS and track operator ProRail have deployed specialist teams to investigate the scene of the accident. Meanwhile, replacement transport has been arranged, and Leiden and Voorschoten stations have been closed. Wouter Koolmees, the director of NS, has vowed to thoroughly investigate the incident, stating that they want to know precisely what happened.

The king and queen issued a statement of condolence through the royal house, expressing their thoughts for the victims and their families, many of whom are in a state of anxiety and uncertainty. Prime Minister Mark Rutte also took to Twitter to express his sorrow over the tragic accident, saying, “My thoughts are with relatives and all the victims. I wish them every strength.”

This is not the first time a train accident has occurred in the Netherlands involving a construction crane. Four years ago, an NS train collided with a crane on the track outside Prinsenbeek station on the high-speed line near Breda. Luckily, nobody was injured, but all 250 passengers had to be transferred to another train to Rotterdam.

Train accidents like this are tragic and devastating, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families. It is essential that thorough investigations are conducted to determine the root cause of such incidents and prevent similar accidents from occurring in the future. Photo by Vysotsky, Wikimedia commons.