Vogelwaarde, 12 June 2026
Three children and one adult were killed when a car struck a group of 14 primary school pupils and two supervisors riding bicycles near the village of Vogelwaarde in the western Netherlands, police said.
The car skidded on a federal highway and hit the group on a bike path. According to broadcaster NOS, the driver reportedly continued straight in a curve and hit the group, who were on a school trip, on the bike path. Photos from the scene showed a severely damaged car that had come to rest in a ditch beside the road. Three people died from their injuries at the scene, and a fourth child later died in hospital, bringing the total to four fatalities, according to police.
The crash and the victims
The pupils came from a primary school in Axel, police said, and were travelling with their accompanying adults to a school recreational trip, according to broadcaster Omroep Zeeland. They were on a bike path when the vehicle left the road and struck them. Four other children were seriously injured and were taken to hospitals in Ghent, Antwerp and Rotterdam for treatment. The police spokeswoman did not provide information on the condition of the injured.