No fewer than thirty people have been injured with quite a lot of them in bad conditions after a train carrying at least 50 passengers derailed in the southern Netherlands.
Africa Today News, New York reports that the accident happened in the village of Voorschoten about 55 kilometres (34 miles) south of the capital Amsterdam, at about 3.30am, according to broadcaster NOS.
Two of the double-decker train’s four carriages were derailed with eyewtinesses reporting a fire in the rear carriage.
NOS cited a spokesperson for the Hollands Midden security region saying there were ‘many victims’.
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It was initially reported that the accident happened after the passenger train collided with a cargo train, but Dutch Railways later announced that the passenger train had run into a construction crane that was on or near the track.
NOS said emergency services including a helicopter had been deployed with the injured taken to hospital.
The train was on its way from Leiden to The Hague when the accident happened. Train services on the route have been suspended.
In another report, no fewer than 50 people have been hospitalised in western Canada after a passenger bus crashed on a highway on Sunday night, provincial authorities have confirmed.
The cause of yesterday evening’s accident, which occurred on a highway some 330 kilometers (200 miles) east of Vancouver in an area of British Columbia hit by days of bad winter weather, has yet to be provided.
British Columbia Premier David Eby said he was ‘shocked and saddened’ by the news.
‘Our thoughts are with those impacted by the crash, their loved ones, and the first responders and health-care workers giving their all to treat people and keep them safe,’ he said in a statement.
Regional health authority Interior Health tweeted 53 patients were being treated at three hospitals but said it could not yet give details on patient conditions.