Car Hits Group of Students on Bicycle Trip – Four Dead

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• In the western Netherlands, a car struck a group of schoolchildren.
• Four people died, including three children.
• One person has been arrested at the scene of the accident. It is not yet known whether this was the driver of the car.

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This article was last updated at 8:37 p.m.

In the Netherlands, a car struck a group of students on bicycles. Three children and one adult were killed, according to police. The car reportedly skidded off a highway near Vogelwaarde in the western part of the country and struck the group of 14 students and two chaperones who were on a school trip. Three people died from their injuries at the scene. Four other children were seriously injured, one of whom later died in the hospital. Police described it as a “very serious traffic accident.”

A 19-year-old man was arrested. The police did not say whether he was the suspected driver. His involvement in the accident is being investigated. According to the broadcaster NOS, the driver is said to have continued straight through a curve and struck the group of students on the bike path. The police are investigating how the accident occurred.

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The students were from an elementary school in Axel, the police said. They were on their way to a school trip with their chaperones, as reported by the broadcaster Omroep Zeeland.

Photos from the scene of the accident showed a heavily damaged car that had come to a stop in a ditch beside the road. Emergency services responded with a large contingent of seven ambulances and three rescue helicopters. The injured were taken to hospitals in Ghent, Antwerp, and Rotterdam. Assistance was organized for the remaining participants in the school trip, and psychological support was provided at the Vogelwaarde community center.

Police spokeswoman Mariska Bezemer described it as a dramatic and particularly tragic incident, as reported by the newspaper “Provinciale Zeeuwse Courant.” She did not yet say much about the exact circumstances of the accident. “Specialists are currently investigating the circumstances of the accident.” The car has been impounded, and evidence is being collected. The police spokesperson did not provide any details on the condition of the injured. The police called on witnesses to report any observations regarding the accident or anything unusual in the surrounding area or the town.

Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten reacted with shock to the tragedy: “What should be a highlight for every child and every elementary school—the school trip—has ended in a nightmare.”