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CatastropheNetherlands

Truck veers into Dutch BBQ revellers, 6 dead

August 28, 2022

The truck ran off a dyke and slammed into a group of people in the Nieuw-Beijerland neighborhood near Rotterdam. The exact cause of the crash is not yet known.

https://p.dw.com/p/4G8yi
Panoramic shot of a large number of emergency services vehicles and workers working at the site of the accident in Nieuw-Beijerland in the aftermath of the crash. Most of the truck that hit the group is also still visible in the frame. August 27, 2022.
The truck from a Spanish transport company ended up at the bottom of a small dyke, amid broken picnic tablesImage: ANP/dpa/picture alliance

Six people were killed and seven injured when a truck rolled into a neighborhood barbecue in the Netherlands on Saturday

Dutch police were trying to determine why the truck left the road and careered down the side of a dike in the village of Nieuw-Beijerland just south of Rotterdam.

Police said the crash took place around 6 p.m. local time. 

"You can imagine how awful it is, during a neighborhood party a truck drives into this group of people, the shock is enormous," a police spokesperson on the scene told Omroep Rijnmond radio station. 

The driver, a 46-year-old Spanish national, was arrested as part of the investigation.

Police said he was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash.

Police are investigating

The rescue mission involved several ambulances and a helicopter, and a number of people were taken to hospital.

A specialist vehicle with a crane arm removing the truck from the scene of the deadly incident in Nieuw-Beijerland, August 27, 2022. A man in forensic gear can also be seen in the foreground crossing the road.
The exact casualty figures are not clearImage: ANP/dpa/picture alliance

"My condolences go out to the victims, their families, eyewitnesses and first responders," Mayor Charlie Aptroot said.

Police worked into the night around the truck before a crane and a tow truck hauled it back onto the road.

The accident happened a day after a van driver plowed into a crowded cafe terrace in central Brussels, wounding six people.

mm, lo/msh (AP, dpa)