At least one dead, 10 hurt after passenger train smashes crane; Train overturned

Update, 11:30 a.m., 23 February 2016: Reports from the scene now say six were hurt, with two transported to an area hospital. The crane operator is being questioned by authorities. Update, 10:40 a.m., 23 February 2016: The IJsseland Regional Safety Office reported one person was killed, with newswire ANP saying at least ten were hurt in varying conditions. It was previously reported that two people were killed. The status of the crane operator is unknown. At least one person was killed and ten others were injured when an Arriva passenger train crashed into a crane and overturned in Dalfsen on Tuesday morning, the regional safety office stated. The train's engineer died in the crash, according to Mayor Han Noten. The exact number of passengers on the train is unclear, but it was estimated at as few as five and as many as 14. The crash was reported at around 8:50 a.m. and quickly elevated to a Grip 1 emergency. It happened at a crossing between Dalfsen and Ommen. An eyewitness told Radio 1 that there is chaos on the scene. "The whole front of the train is knocked away. I heard that five people were on board and that the driver was killed", the woman said adding that the accident was caused by a slow moving crane. According to RTV Oost, three train carriages are on their sides in the meadow next to the track. This information has not been confirmed by the authorities. Jan Wittenberg of the IJsselland safety office is on the scene. He confirmed that the train is on its side and that emergency services are responding en masse. A trauma helicopter from the University Medical Center Groningen is at the scene. "We are working with a flue to see if there are still people in the train", he said on Radio 1. A number of people managed to get out of the train themselves. They were given shelter in a nearby farm. "Those people are safe. We do not yet know whether there are more victims, more on that later", Wittenberg said. A Grip 1 emergency calls for the coordination of all first responders under a single command post. The mayor and local government is kept informed as the situation develops, and is tasked with organizing the municipal response to an incident, including the provision of any necessary relief effort. Regional police and fire leadership, as well as the public health director are also brought into the loop. So far the only comment Arriva made is that no trains are traveling the Dalfsen route at present due to the accident.

Holy damn #dalfsen #treinongelukdalfsen pic.twitter.com/jiN8RyyrrM

— Jochem (@JochemMiedema) February 23, 2016

Meer foto’s treinongeluk #Dalfsen (bron: RTV Oost) pic.twitter.com/aw9Rx6bhyG

— Lammert de Bruin (@lammert) February 23, 2016

https://twitter.com/DeVriesBjorn/status/702054612552040448/photo/1