Six dead as truck hits Dutch village barbecue

Dutch police said six people were killed and seven others hurt after a truck ran off the top of a dike and ploughed into a neighbourhood barbecue.

Police were questioning the Spanish-registered driver of the lorry following the accident on Saturday evening in Nieuw-Beijerland, a village 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of Rotterdam.

The victims were three women aged 28, 32 and 75, and three men aged 41, 50 and 62, all from the local area, police said. One of the injured was in a critical condition in hospital.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander said he was "shocked" and Prime Minister Mark Rutte offered condolences over the "terrible" accident.

Police had first confirmed at least two dead after the vehicle drove into the crowded community barbecue, which Dutch news reports said was being hosted by an ice-skating club.

"We now have six people killed and seven injured, one seriously after yesterday's accident," police spokeswoman Mirjam Boers said.

"We are still investigating what exactly happened," she said.

Witnesses said the truck stopped for a moment at a T-junction on the narrow Zuidzijdsedijk dike, before taking off and ploughing into the revellers, according to local broadcaster Rijnmond.

Photographs from the scene taken immediately after the accident identified the truck as belonging to the El Mosca company, based in Spain. They showed scattered chairs lying on the ground and bunting hanging from trees.