A car has crashed into a group of cyclists who were on a school camping trip, killing three children and an adult in the rural southern Netherlands, emergency services have said
A vehicle ploughed into a group of cyclists on a school camping expedition, claiming the lives of three youngsters and an adult. Tragedy struck in the rural southern Netherlands, emergency services have confirmed.
Officers said in a statement that they arrested a 19-year-old man and were examining his role in the incident. They did not reveal whether he was behind the wheel of the vehicle. Two youngsters and an adult were pronounced dead at the scene. Four children sustained serious injuries and were rushed to hospitals in the Netherlands and neighbouring Belgium for treatment.
One of them died on Thursday evening at a hospital in Rotterdam, the Zeeland Security Region organisation confirmed in a statement. Those who lost their lives and were hurt formed part of a group of 14 schoolchildren and two supervisors from a primary school in the nearby town of Axel.
Officers are examining the cause of the incident on a provincial road that runs between farmers’ fields near the small town of Vogelwaarde, approximately 200 kilometres (125 miles) south of Amsterdam.
A photograph shown on Dutch media revealed a vehicle, with its windscreen shattered and bonnet damaged, in a field beside the road.
Such incidents involving multiple cyclists are uncommon in the Netherlands, where bicycle riding is embedded into daily life and virtually all roads feature dedicated cycle lanes.
No additional details were immediately available.
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