Young Dutch brothers killed in car crash over German border

Two Dutch teenagers died in a car accident in Meppen, just across the German-Dutch border near Emmen, on Wednesday evening, the German police said. The victims were 19 and 12 years old. They were brothers from Pesse, according to Dagblad van het Noorden.

The two brothers were on their way home to the Netherlands when the accident happened on the B402 in Meppen. The 19-year-old was trying to overtake another car in his Opel Corsa when he crashed into an oncoming truck, the police said.

“The Opel Corsa was massively deformed and thrown sideways. The two occupants of the car succumbed to their injuries at the scene,” the police said. The driver of the truck, a 59-year-old from Zaandam, was in shock but physically unharmed.

The accident shut down the B402 highway in both directions for several hours. The German emergency services responded en masse, deploying the police, rescue service, a trauma team, and emergency pastoral workers. There were eight vehicles and 48 first responders at the scene.