Ice skater falls through thin ice, dies at hospital

Emergency services pulled a skater out of the freezing water on Middelland in Hank on Wednesday morning after he fell through the thin ice. The 75-year-old man from Sleeuwijk in Noord-Brabant was rushed to hospital in a critical condition, where he later passed away, police said in a statement.

The man was skating on Gat van Loopgauw, on the edge of nature reserve De Biesbosch, when the accident took place. Passersby saw him in the water and called the emergency services just after 10:30 a.m.

Firefighters managed to pull the man out of the water around 11:00 a.m., but it was not clear how long he was in the frigid water. The victim was resuscitated at the scene before being rushed to hospital. Police publicly announced his death at about 2:10 p.m.

Due to the severity of the situation, several ambulances, fire trucks and an air ambulance were deployed to the scene.