Four people, including three children, are dead and several others remain hospitalized after a car struck a school cycling group on a rural road in the southern Netherlands on Thursday, in one of the country’s most devastating recent incidents involving cyclists.
The collision occurred near the village of Vogelwaarde, close to the Belgian border, shortly before 12:30 when a BMW passenger car left the road on a bend and crashed into a group of 14 children and two adult supervisors. The incident happened on the N290 between Vogelwaarde and Terhole, two villages within the municipality of Hulst.
Those killed and injured were part of a group from an elementary school in the nearby town of Axel. Surviving casualties were transported to Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, as well as Ghent University Hospital and Antwerp University Hospital in Belgium. Regional authorities confirmed that the adult who died was one of the accompanying parents.
A 19-year-old man from Hulst was taken into custody, though police stated it was too early to confirm whether he was the driver involved.
Incidents involving multiple cyclists are rare in the Netherlands, where cycling is deeply embedded in daily life and much of the road network includes dedicated cycling infrastructure. That context has amplified the shock surrounding Thursday’s tragedy.
The Zeeland Veilig regional emergency organization confirmed that psychological support was being arranged for surviving children, the remaining supervisor, and the families of those involved. Police continue to investigate the cause of the crash.
Photo Credit: nos.nl
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