Search for victims after Dutch bridge cranes collapse

Two cranes employed to restore a bridge in the central Dutch town of Alphen aan den Rijn have collapsed on buildings, injuring at least 20 people, media say.

“Two cranes and the stretch of roadway they were carrying fell on five houses in all”, said a spokesman for the fire service.

Dutch public broadcaster NOS reports that numerous victims are seriously injured.

The two cranes were placed on top of a barge on a canal for the renovation of the Juliana bridge. The piece of bridge and the cranes hit a shop selling second hand goods and a shop selling artists supplies as well as other properties.

The cranes then appear to buckle under the weight of the bridge segment and topple over onto a nearby row of houses, slamming through the buildings and sending a cloud of dust into the air.

The cranes were mounted on a floating deck and were carrying the bridge part to the location.

“You see the cloud of dust rise – that is a awful image and you think, ‘Who is under there?’ You can’t believe what you see”, witness Dick van Smirren told NOS.

Accident investigators have also attended the scene to investigate the incident. Rescuers with the use of sniffer domestic dogs have been while they travel in the site to verify for surviving family members.