Netherlands
Truck crashes into barbecue: six dead near Rotterdam
Rescue workers at the scene of the accident: ten ambulances and a helicopter are in action. photo
© ANP/dpa
The barbecue in a small town in Holland is in full swing. Then the catastrophe: a truck crashes into the middle of the celebrating people. There are dead and injured.
Six people died when a truck crashed into a neighborhood festival near Rotterdam. Seven others were injured, one seriously, police said. On Saturday evening in the village of Nieuw-Beijerland, a Spanish truck veered off the road that runs along a dyke at an intersection and drove right into the middle of the barbecue.
The 46-year-old Spanish truck driver was arrested. A police spokeswoman for the dpa said he was being investigated for causing a fatal accident. The man, who was not injured, had not drunk any alcohol. The truck initially stopped at the intersection and, when it started again, got off the road for reasons that are still unknown.
According to the Spanish newspaper “La Verdad”, the Spanish trucking company said the driver of the truck went off the road while trying to avoid a van. The haulage company is in contact with the Dutch authorities to help clarify the cause of the accident, the newspaper reported.
The police spokeswoman could not say whether a van was involved in the accident. On the evening of the accident, however, a white van was being sought. The driver later reported himself to authorities.
During the night, the heavy truck and then the dead lying under the vehicle were first recovered with a crane. Investigations into the cause of the accident were still ongoing.