Two humpback whales were spotted swimming off the Dutch coast on Thursday afternoon. The first was seen off the coast of Scheveningen, and a second animal was spotted off the coast near Bergen aan Zee, SOS Dolfijn reports.
An adult humpback can grow up to 18 meters tall. The animals are adventurous and can manage well in shallow waters, such as those on the Dutch coast. According to SOS Dolfijn, there is therefore no reason to worry that the two whales are in trouble.
The Dutch Safety Board is launching an investigation into the bonfires in The Hague over New Year's, at the request of Hague mayor Pauline Krikke. This past New Year's a strong wind blew sparks from the Scheveningen bonfire over the city, causing multiple fires, NOS reports.
The municipality of The Hague is calling on the public to send in photos or video footage of the New Year's bonfire on Scheveningen beach and the clouds of sparks and ash it caused. The footage will be used in the investigation into the rain of sparks that caused multiple fires in Scheveningen over New Year's, NOS reports.
Multiple fires started in buildings and the dunes in Scheveningen after the wind blew sparks from the New Year's bonfires over the town. The fire department has the fires under control, NU.nl reports.
Photos and videos on social media show whirlwinds with sparks in them. As the wind was blowing from the beach towards Scheveningen, this caused a dangerous situation.
A humpback whale was spotted around 2 kilometers off the coast of Scheveningen on Tuesday. This whale has been seen off the Dutch coast multiple times over the past two months, NU.nl reports.
The whale, affectionately called Jojo, often breaks the surface and regularly sprays water into the air.
The humpback was first spotted off the coast of Texel on October 14th. In the following weeks, the animal was seen multiple times, including near Scheveningen and Egmond aan Zee.
The body of a kite surfer was found between concrete blocks that serve as breakwaters at Zuiderstrand in Scheveningen on Sunday, after the man went missing on Saturday. The man's kite and surfboard were previously found on the concrete blocks, which is how emergency workers knew where to search, ANP reports.
The man went kite surfing with his daughter on Saturday. She went home before her father did, and sounded the alarm when he did not return.
One of two sailors involved in a fatal collision between a fast rubber dinghy and a motorboat in the port of Scheveningen on Thursday, was arrested. The other skipper was injured and is in hospital. He will be questioned at a later time, the police said, NU.nl reports.
Two boats crashed in the port of Scheveningen on Thursday evening. One person was killed and three were injured, one of whom is in critical condition, according to the police.
After 84 thousand kilometers of sailing around the world, the Volvo Ocean Race ended in a photo finish in The Hague on Sunday. Dongfeng, a Chinese boat with Dutch Carolijn Brouwer on board, came in first place. With that Brouwer is the first woman ever to win the Volvo Ocean Race, AD reports.
Dozens of apartments in Scheveningen were evacuated on Wednesday morning due to a fire in a restaurant on Kalhuisplaats, near the boulevard. The fire has since been extinguished, ANP reports.
The fire caused a large amount of damage to the restaurant, according to the fire department. The residents of 63 apartments located above the restaurant were evacuated as a precaution. No one was injured
Firefighters are currently ventilating and checking the apartments. Evacuated residents were offered shelter at nearby beach tent Boonoonoonoos.
The body of murdered yoga instructor Julia Leda was found hacked to pieces in a chest on the balcony of her and her partner's home on Neptunusstraat in Scheveningen, Omroep West reports based on the Public Prosecutor's indictment.
A large fire is raging in beach tent restaurant Blue Lagoon on the boulevard in Scheveningen. No one was injured.
The fire was discovered around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday, according to De Scheveninger. The fire was under control around 7:05 a.m., but firefighters are still working on extinguishing it, the fire department said on Twitter.
The Public Prosecutor in Arnhem is investigating charges filed against D66 leader Alexander Pechtold after it was revealed that he received an apartment in Scheveningen from a former Canadian diplomat as a gift and dit not report it to parliament's gift register, Omroep Gelderland reports.
A body was found on Scheveningen beach in Den Haag around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday. The identity of the victim is not yet known. The police are investigating, AD reports.
The body was found near the Zuiderstrandtheater parking lot. The police believe the body washed ashore. How the victim died is unclear.
A woman was found dead in a yoga studio in the Neptunusstraat in Den Hague on Thursday afternoon. The police suspects the woman was victim of a brutal crime. A 40-year-old man from Den Haag was arrested in connection with the case, according to a police report.
Thousands of people in the Netherlands welcomed the new year by taking a dip in the cold water at over 140 locations across the country. From noon tens of thousands of people stormed into the cold water, just to storm out again moments later and line up for hot chocolate and soup.
D66 leader Alexander Pechtold responded defensively to a commotion that arose around a beach home apartment in Scheveningen, The Hague that he received as a gift from a former Canadian diplomat. According to Pechtold, the apartment, worth 135 thousand euros, was a private gift from an old family friend and therefore does not have to be registered with the Tweede Kamer gift register, RTL Nieuws reports.
The municipality of The Hague is conducting an experiment this New Year's in which local residents can declare their street, square of playground a firework-free zone. Residents will have to enforce the ban themselves, and the municipality will provide signs to mark the zone. The experiment will be held in Scheveningen, ANP reports.
Traces of the potentially carcinogenic substance GenX were found in the tap water of The Hague, Zoetermeer and Leiden, water company Dunea announced on Tuesday. The company stresses that the concentrations are very low and that the drinking water is still safe, AD reports.
Legoland is definitely opening a branch in Scheveningen, The Hague, parent company Merlin announced. Construction on Legoland Discovery Center Scheveningen will start on the boulevard at the end of this year, AD reports.
The attraction will cover almost 3 thousand square meters. Inside kids between the ages of 3 and 10 years can go crazy on a number of different playgrounds. According to Merlin, there will be interactive rides, master building classes, special rooms for birthdays and parties and a 4D cinema.
One person was killed when a fire broke out in a cell at the prison in Scheveningen during the early hours of Thursday morning. The other prisoners in the affected wing were evacuated and given shelter elsewhere in the complex. No one else was injured, the Telegraaf reports.
In what is believed to be the first substantive progress to government formation in the Netherlands since mid-May, Prime MInister Mark Rutte, the head of the conservative VVD party, is meeting Thursday with political leaders Sybrand Buma (CDA), Alexander Pechtold (D66) and Jesse Klaver (GroenLinks). They will be joined by new coalition mediator Tjeenk Willink, sources have told news agency ANP, the first time the four parties have attempted to break their deadlock in over three weeks.
With outside temperatures of -4 degrees and seawater temperatures of around 7 degrees, some 50 thousand Dutch people took the traditional New Year's plunge at 142 locations in the Netherlands around noon on Sunday, RTL Nieuws reports.
The plunge at Scheveningen, The Hague was most popular with over 10 thousand people diving into freezing cold water.A spokesperson for the organizers called the plunge "nice and crisp",.
Despite the low temperatures, no one became hypothermic or was injured in any other way.
The Hague should follow the lead of kids' show Sinterklaasjournaal when it comes to what Zwarte Piet will look like at Sinterklaas' arrival in the city, Mayor Jozias van Aartsen will advise the organizers of the arrival
