At least one person was killed and 30 were injured many seriously when a passenger train carrying about 50 people derailed in the Netherlands after hitting construction equipment on the track. The accident took place in the village of Voorschoten, about 55km (34 miles) south of the capital Amsterdam, at 3:30am (01:30 GMT), according to broadcaster NOS.

Two of the double decker train’s four carriages were derailed with a fire in the rear carriage that was later extinguished. “This is an incredibly tragic accident,” Voorschoten Mayor Nadine Stemerdink said. “We regret there was also a fatality. My thoughts go out to all the family and friends of those involved.” Images from the scene showed a front carriage that landed on a field, while a second flipped on its side.

Several ambulances and a helicopter were deployed to take seriously injured passengers to hospital. “We heard a loud bang and suddenly the lights went out,” an unidentified witness told the local Omroep West television news. “We couldn’t initially get out of the train because there was no electricity. Eventually we got after what felt like hours.” It was initially reported the accident happened after the passenger train collided with a cargo train, but Dutch Railways later announced the passenger train had run into a construction crane that was on or near the track.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-INP