A monster truck accident in the Netherlands, where a "monster truck" ploughed into a crowd during an annual motor show in the east of the Netherlands, resulted in three people getting killed, said the local mayor on Monday.
The event was held in Haaksbergen in Overijssel province, and the third death from the monster truck accident in the Netherlands was announced Monday.
"A third victim has died from Sunday's accident," said mayor Hans Gerritsen in a Monday statement.
"Five people are still in a critical condition," he added.
While authorities confirmed a boy, a man and a woman died from the monster truck accident, they gave no details of the identities of the victims, reports the Telegraph.
There are also another 18 people with lesser injuries, according to the Haaksbergen mayor's office.
Emergency helicopters, ambulances, fire trucks and police cars and rescue services from nearby Germany rushed to the scene of the accident in the Netherlands to care for the injured, reports the AFP.
The helicopters assisted in taking the injured to hospitals in three nearby towns.
"A so-called monster truck drove into a crowd of spectators. A terrible accident with two dead victims, 18 wounded (including) six severely wounded," said town authorities on Sunday on their website haaksbergen.nl.
An amateur video footage has been posted on Facebook showing how the monster truck accident in the Netherlands took place, reports the BBC. The clip showed a modified 1,500 horsepower pick-up truck with tractor-sized tyres failing to brake after driving across a row of six parked cars during a stunt. As a result, the giant vehicle veered off course and
ploughed into the audience, who were only separated from by weak metal barriers.
While other people were able to get away uninjured, others weren't so lucky.
The unnamed driver responsible for deaths has been detained overnight, partly for his own protection, his lawyer told Dutch broadcaster RTV Oost. Meanwhile, police said they have opened an inquiry into the incident.
According to Lawyer Rob Oude Breuil, his client, the driver, is suspected of manslaughter. The man has not yet been charged as the investigation is still ongoing.
Event organiser Geerlof Kanis told state broadcaster NOS that the reason for the monster truck accident in the Netherlands is still unclear. However, reports have surfaced claiming that the truck's brakes or accelerator had malfunctioned.
"Instead of braking, the truck drove into spectators," Kanis cited.
Showing respect for the victims of the monster truck accident in the Netherlands, a similar event in the nearby Dutch town of Tubbergen planned for Tuesday has been cancelled.
"I can still see the monster truck driving into the spectators," Robert Ten Heuw, an eyewitness, told De Telegraaf newspaper.
"What I then saw is indescribable. Everyone was screaming and I saw a huge pool of blood," he added.
Ten Heuw is reportedly amongst the 30 to 40 spectators who lifted the truck off off victims "with their bare hands".
Eyewitness Freek Lassche also said, "The worst thing was that the smallest children were all at the front so that they didn't miss anything."
Meanwhile, Dutch media questioned if the event which led to the monster truck accident in the Netherlands followed rules from the international Monster Truck Racing Association. The rules reportedly require spectators to be more than 10 metres (32 feet) away from the trucks during such events.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
