One person dead and several injured after passenger train derails in the Netherlands

Dutch emergency services say one person has died and at least 40 have been injured, many of them seriously, when a train partially derailed in the early hours of Tuesday, sending at least one carriage into a field next to the tracks.

Television images showed one of the people using makeshift bridges to cross a canal running alongside the rails to reach the stricken train in the darkness.

Many windows in the train carriages were broken. It was not clear if that happened during the accident or as passengers attempted to escape.

The cause of the accident that happened around 3.25am (1.25am GMT) in the town of Voorschoten, near The Hague, was not immediately clear, although initial reports suggested it was caused by left over construction equipment on the tracks.

Ingrid de Roos, a spokeswoman for local fire services, told news show WNL that a small fire broke out at the rear of the train but was quickly extinguished.

Nineteen people had been taken to hospital, with others treated at the scene, she added.

The front carriage of the train between Leiden city and The Hague is understood to have derailed and ended up in a field after the accident.

Injured passengers were treated in homes near the rails and transported in a fleet of ambulances to hospitals, including a “calamity hospital” opened in the central city of Utrecht.

Initial reports suggest one person is dead and at least 40 more have been hurt.

Voorschoten Mayor Nadine Stemerdink said in a statement: “This is an incredibly tragic accident. I sympathise with the victims. Unfortunately, there is also a fatality to mourn.

“My thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved.”

John Voppen, CEO of the rail network company Pro Rail, called the accident “a black day for Dutch railways” and said the cause was under investigation.

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source: express.co.uk