Five hurt in six-vehicle crash on the A9 near Schiphol

Five people were injured in a six-vehicle crash on the A9 on Tuesday morning. The incident caused authorities to shut down the southbound lanes of the highway between the Velsen and Raasdorp interchanges at the start of the morning rush hour.

The incident happened at about 5:35 a.m. near Boesingheliede, just east of the Polderbaan at Schiphol Airport, police said. The chain-reaction crash involved a truck, a work van, and four passenger cars. Dispatchers sent police, firefighters, paramedics, and an air ambulance to the scene.

Of the five people who were hurt, two were hospitalized. The others were treated at the scene. The cause of the crash was under investigation, and no arrests were immediately announced.

Vehicles were still being removed from the crash site three hours later, according to Rijkswaterstaat. Debris was also scattered over the highway lanes.

It took about an hour for authorities to allow drivers trapped on the A9 to make a u-turn and exit the closed highway. By 9 a.m. it still was not clear when the highway would be reopened. Drivers from Alkmaar headed towards Amsterdam were told to avoid the A9 by using the A200, N200, N203, N46, A10 or A8.