Parking garage partially collapses at Nieuwegein hospital; No injuries reported

The parking garage at the St. Antonius Hospital in Nieuwegein partially collapsed on Sunday night. No one got hurt and there are no indications that anyone is under the rubble, the local security region said, NOS reports.

The garage ramps, where cars drive in and out, collapsed around 10:00 p.m. on Sunday. The emergency services responded in large numbers, searching for possible victims. A specialist team combed the rubble with sniffer dogs, but the dogs found nothing. Camera and drone images showed nothing that could indicate victims, and the police received no missing person reports. The hospital also made contact with all staff present on Sunday.

According to ANP, one person was in the garage when the collapse happened. They didn't see anything, only heard a loud bang, and made their way outside.

The rest of the building is stable. The cause of the collapse is under investigation. The Q-Park paid parking garage has six floors and is used by visitors and hospital staff. Cars are still parked on several floors of the garage.

The St. Antonius Hospital postponed scheduled procedures that could wait. It asked patients, visitors, and staff to only come to the hospital if absolutely necessary and to use bicycles and public transport to do so. It will search for alternative parking spaces this week.

Mayor Marijke van Beukering of Nieuwegein said she was shocked by the incident. “It is still unclear how this could have happened,” she said in a statement on the municipality’s website. I now want to offer the emergency services every opportunity to do their work and wish them luck and strength.”

According to AD, the garage’s structural soundness was inspected in 2017 after a similar garage collapsed at Eindhoven Airport. The inspectors concluded that the floor in Nieuwegein was safe.