Temp workers killed in southern Netherlands crash
A woman and four men were killed when a passenger van crashed into a truck on the N270 between Helmond and Deurne on Monday afternoon. The five victims all worked for the Horizon Groep in Velp, which deploys temporary production workers throughout the Netherlands. Four others were seriously injured, the truck driver and three others from in the van, AD reports.
The Horizon Groep van crashed head on into the truck just east of Helmond, Noord-Brabant around 4:20 p.m. on Monday. A total of eight people were in the van. According to RTL Nieuws, they are young migrant workers living in Germany. They were on their way home after a day's work in Helmond. A 24-year-old woman and four men between the ages of 27 and 37 years were killed. A 39-year-old woman, two 36-year-old men and the 48-year-old truck driver from Heusden were hurt. They are all in hospital with serious injuries
The truck belonged to sewer drainage company Adriaans in Mierlo. "The driver was just on his way home", an employee of the company said to AD. "After a normal working day in Gennep. For the municipality. We still know very little. We look at the photos with dismay. The owner of the company, Harold Adriaans, went to the police station." According to the Adriaans employee, the driver was in the truck alone.
The N270 is known as a dangerous piece of road. Between 2014 and 2016 there were seven fatal accidents and twelve with severely injured victims, according to RTL Nieuws. A total of 170 traffic accidents were registered on that road in that period.
Measures are being taken on the N270 between Deurne and Limburg to improve safety on the route. The road is being widened in some places, and parallel roads and traffic lights are being installed. On the part where the accident happened on Monday, a study is currently under way into how the traffic flow can be improved, according to the broadcaster.
