In the Netherlands, a car has crashed into a group of schoolchildren on bicycles. Two children and one adult were killed, according to the authorities in the province of Zeeland in the west of the Netherlands.
The car is reported to have skidded on a main road near Vogelwaarde and struck the group of 14 pupils and two accompanying adults, who were on a school trip.
Four other children were seriously injured. The driver is said to have continued straight ahead on a bend and struck the group of pupils on the cycle path, broadcaster NOS reported on Thursday.
The pupils were from a primary school in Axel and were on their way to a school trip with accompanying adults, Omroep Zeeland (Zeeland Broadcasting Network) reported. One person was detained at the scene of the accident. It was not known whether this was the driver of the car.
Photos from the scene showed a badly damaged car that had come to a halt in a ditch beside the road. Emergency services were deployed in large numbers. The injured were taken to hospitals in Ghent, Antwerp and Rotterdam.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten reacted with shock to the accident: “What should be a highlight for every child and every primary school - the school trip - has ended in a nightmare.”
