Body found in search for missing mom after crash into Amsterdam canal

Fire brigade divers found a body in an Amsterdam canal on Sunday evening while searching for a woman who crashed her car into a side branch of the IJ river during the early hours of that morning. It is believed that the body found is the woman who was involved in the accident with her three children, but her identity must still be officially confirmed. The children escaped the crash uninjured.

The body was found just before the divers were to call off their search due to the darkness, a police spokesperson said to newspaper AD. "It was at the last minute," the spokesperson said. They could not confirm the identity of the victim at the time. "We must first be very sure who it involves, we can probably say that [on Monday]."

The woman's three children managed to get out of the car and out of the water uninjured. The police did not reveal their ages - "With the view of relatives who have not yet been reached." - but did say that they weren't small children. They speak German. The car also has German license plates. The mother was behind the wheel.

The car crashed into the IJ side canal to Nieuwendam on the Nieuwendammerdijk at around 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. Three fire brigade diving teams immediately launched a search for the woman, assisted by a police helicopter, a thermal imaging camera, and a boat with sonar equipment. After about an hour of finding nothing, the search was postponed to daylight. 

The vehicle was pulled out of the canal at around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to AT5. 

#Auto met vier inzittenden drie kinderen en een bestuurster raakt te water de kinderen kwamen zelf uit het water. Best spoorloos. Het #waterongeval vond vannacht om 02.06 uur plaats. Vele hulpd ter pl. Auto een Volkswagen Sharan om 06.30 uur geborgen. Nieuwendammerdijk @noord020. pic.twitter.com/vz9sY0ce0F

— Martin Damen (@martindamen58) February 21, 2021