Netherland

Disaster Control and Crisis Management in the Netherlands (Text of a brochure of the Ministry of Interior of the Netherlands)

1981 October 6th. - Moerdijk: NLM Fokker F-28 Friendship crashed due to heavy turbulence; all 17 people aboard died

1992 October 4th. - Amsterdam: El-Al Cargo Boeing 747 crashed into a residential high rise building shortly after take off from Schiphol airport; 47 people (crew of 4 and 43 on the ground) died.

1996 July 15th. - Eindhoven Airport: a military C-130 Hercules plane, crashed on landing and caught fire; 34 people died and only 7 were rescued after a significant delay.

1996 September 25th. - Waddenzee: Dutch Dakota Association Douglas DC-3 crashed shortly after take off; all 32 people aboard died

Fire & Explosions:

1977 May 9th. Hotel Fire - Amsterdam, Hotel Polen: the early morning fire was
reported with a 20 minute delay, 33 people died and 21 sustained severe injuries.

2001 January 1st. Disco Fire - Netherlands, near Amsterdam, town of Volendam: Fire in a Dance Hall; ten people are dead and about 130 injured after fire swept through a cafe packed with teenagers. Many of the injured were hurt as they trampled each other, smashed windows and leapt from the third-floor premises to escape flames and smoke. Several other youngsters suffered severe burns or smoke inhalations, and about 20 of these victims had to be taken to special burn units in Belgium and Germany.

The fire started shortly after midnight as about 700 people were heralding the new year at the bar/cafe complex "Het Hemeltje" (Little Heaven) inside a row of old wooden houses in Volendam, a picturesque fishing village with 18,000 residents about 20 kilometers (13 miles) northeast of Amsterdam.

The cause of the blaze is still unknown; the possibilities of fireworks smuggled into the building or a Christmas lights short-circuit that ignited pine branches are under investigation.

According to press reports Voldendam's mayor has confirmed that only one of the three emergency exits was accessible.

Terrorism:

1971 March 14th. - Rotterdam; fuel tank were blown up.

1972 February 6th. - Rotterdam: two gas-processing plants were blown up by Black September terrorist

1974 September 13th. - The Hague, French embassy: 3 Japanese Red Army terrorists hold 11 people hostage in exchange for the release of a fellow terrorist from a French prison; all four were flown to Damascus in Syria

1977 May 23rd. - Northern Holland, village of Bovensmilde: Gunmen from the South Molucca islands (formerly part of the Dutch East Indies) seized a primary school and took more than 100 children and 6 teachers hostage;

1977 May 23rd. - June 11th. - The Netherlands, De Punt near the city of Groningen: 13 South Moluccans terrorists seized the Rotterdam-Groningen express with up to 80 passengers on board in open countryside; the train was brought to an abrupt halt when a young Moluccan girl pulled the emergency cord just before it reached its destination. Five heavily armed men then boarded the train from surrounding fields, released children and the elderly, separated women and men, and issued their demands: the Dutch government was to exert pressure on the Indonesians to grant independence to their homeland of South Molucca. In addition, several of their compatriots were to be released from Dutch jails, and a Boeing 747 jet was to be made ready at Schipol airport for their departure. To reinforce their demands, they murdered the train driver and dumped his body on the tracks.

Though negotiations were to drag on for over two weeks, the Dutch government considered a military option from the start. Dutch Marines of the BBE 'Special Operations Unit' were on the scene from the beginning. Food trolleys were allowed to go to the train, but the terrorists insisted the porters - supposed to be Red Cross personnel - had to be naked to prove they were unarmed. However, the porters were policemen gathering primary intelligence. Intelligence can also come from released hostages. Authorities were able to develop a detailed picture on the number of terrorists, the weapons carried, on their behavior, etc.

By 10 June the negotiations had stalled and the government decided to end the siege. Explosives had been planted in front of the train, to be used as a noisy diversion when the attack went in. At first light on 11 June, the BBE Marines formed into two bodies - one to storm the train, the other to provide covering fire. The attack platoon was equipped with Heckler and Koch MP5 submachine guns and Smith and Wesson handguns. Three members of the assault party placed explosive charges on the train doors, while others placed small scaling ladders against the carriages. At the begin of the operation, Dutch Starfighter aircraft flew over the train and kicked in their afterburners. The whole train shuddered with the vibration caused by the jets and the hostages threw themselves to the floor. The charges in front of the train were detonated, and the covering group opened fire with a blistering fusillade of fire.

The terrorists had no time to recover before the doors were blown in and the Marines stormed inside. Ordering the hostages to get down, the terrorists were engaged with accurate small arms fire. Seven were shot and six were captured; two hostages were killed in the firefight. Minutes later the train was secure and all the hostages freed.

Train Accidents:

1918 September 13th. - Netherlands, near Weesp: an eleven-coach train rolled down a 20-feet drop after the embankment gave way just before a bridge across the Merwede Canal; 41 people died and 42 were injured

1960 November 21st. - Netherlands, near Woerden: a British military train derailed after speeding in a construction area; 2 people died and 10 were injured

1962 January 8th. - Netherlands, Harmelen, east of Woerden: head-on collision of two-trains; 93 people died.