1 dead, dozens hurt as train derails from crash with construction equipment in Netherlands

Several dozen people injured in the incident are being treated at the scene.

ByJon Haworth
April 4, 2023, 2:27 AM

LONDON -- One person is dead and at least 30 people have been “seriously injured” after a passenger train carrying at least 50 people derailed following a collision with construction equipment in the Netherlands.

PHOTO: A view of the site where a passenger train derailed in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023.
A view of the site where a passenger train derailed in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023.
Pascal Rossignol/Reuters

The accident happened near Voorschoten, a village between The Hague and Amsterdam, at approximately 3:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday morning when the train hit a construction crane on the tracks and derailed, a Dutch railway spokesperson told ABC News.

PHOTO: King Willem-Alexander, center, of Netherlands walks on the spot where two trains collided with a construction crane in Voorschoten on April 4, 2023.
King Willem-Alexander, center, of Netherlands walks on the spot where two trains collided with a construction crane in Voorschoten on April 4, 2023.
Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/ANP/AFP via Getty Images

It is currently unclear why there was construction equipment on the tracks but an investigation into the crash is underway.

Several dozen people who were injured in the incident were being treated at the scene of the crash while others who suffered more serious injuries were immediately taken to a local area hospital, authorities said.

PHOTO: A general view shows rescue operations underway following the derailment of a passenger train after it hit construction equipment on the track, in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
A general view shows rescue operations underway following the derailment of a passenger train after it hit construction equipment on the track, in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
Kyrlian De Bot/KYRLIAN DE BOT via Reuters

Images showed people using makeshift bridges and ladders to cross a narrow drainage canal running alongside the rails to reach the stricken four-carriage passenger train in the darkness.

PHOTO: A general view shows aftermath following the derailment of a passenger train after it hit construction equipment on the track, in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
A general view shows aftermath following the derailment of a passenger train after it hit construction equipment on the track, in Voorschoten, Netherlands April 4, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.
Kyrlian De Bot/KYRLIAN DE BOT via Reuters

Specialists are currently working to secure the train and have asked the public to stay away from the crash site at this time.

ABC News' Will Gretsky and Aicha El Hammar contributed to this report.

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