Two killed as car crashes close to royal bus (Update 2)

At least two people have been killed and 12 injured in a serious incident during the royal family’s visit to Apeldoorn to celebrate Queen’s Day.


TV pictures show a heavily-damaged black car driving through the barriers erected to keep the crowd under control, close to the open bus carrying queen Beatrix and the rest of her family.
The car hit several people and ploughed into a fenced-off obelisk.
Family members on board the open bus witnessed the incident.
Driver injured
The driver of the car was cut out and taken to an ambulance on a stretcher. One eyewitness told the Telegraaf someone had fallen out of the car shortly before it hit the pillar. Another said the car appeared to be attempting to drive at the bus.
The Telegraaf reports that the royal procession was running late by 20 minutes but that the driver appeared to have followed the royal bus exactly.
The rest of the celebrations in Apeldoorn have been cancelled and the royal family will not appear again in public, Nos tv reports.
Nos tv said it is difficult to find out more about the incident because the use of mobile phones has been banned.
A news conference has been scheduled for later this afternoon.
Queen Beatrix has issued a statement saying the family is extremely shocked by the incident and extending her sympathy to the injured.
Cancellations
In Amsterdam, the Toppers, the headline act at the traditional Radio 538 concert on the Museumplein cancelled their performance ‘out of respect to the victims and their families’. According to local tv station At5, it is not clear if the rest of the concert will go ahead.
In Rotterdam, all the official festivities for Queen’s Day have been cancelled, the Telegraaf reported.
For live coverage of events, http://www.nos.nl/journaal24/
For photographs and a video of the incident, click here
More to follow

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