A sea of flowers, candles and cuddly toys has grown up at the site of Thursday’s tragic accident in which four children, including two sisters, were killed when the electric wagon they were in was hit by a train at a level crossing.

The school which the children, aged four to eight, attended is open as usual on Friday. This, mourning expert Riet Fiddelaers, told broadcaster NOS, is essential to offer children continuity and security.

‘The children are going to draw, write poems and have gym lessons, to keep them occupied,’ head teacher Sandra Beuving van Saam, told NOS.

The children were killed when they were being taken in an electric wagon from a pre-school centre to their primary school in the town of Oss shortly after 8.30am.

Eyewitnesses say it appeared the wagon’s brakes may have failed, but investigators have not yet said anything about the cause of the accident.

Mourning

On Thursday evening, hundreds of people gathered at the site of the accident to look at the flowers and express their grief. City officials have put up tents at the site to protect the flowers from the forecast rain.

Om de bloemen, kaarsjes en knuffels te beschermen tegen de wind en regen hebben we vannacht tenten geplaatst bij het herdenkingsveld bij de Braakstraat/Gerbrandylaan. De tenten breiden we in de loop van de ochtend uit zodat mensen ook beschut kunnen herdenken. #treinongeluk pic.twitter.com/Dlt6jLnTT7

— Gemeente Oss (@gemeenteoss) September 21, 2018

The local theatre, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary next week, has also said it will wind down the festivities.

‘That is Oss, we mourn together,’ the town’s mayor Wobine Buijs-Glaudemans said.

A fifth child, an 11-year-old girl and sister to two of the children who died, and the 32-year-old woman who was driving the wagon, are seriously ill in hospital.

Indrukwekkende voorpagina’s #Oss pic.twitter.com/MPk03Hg1oQ

— Alexander Bakker (@alexanderbakker) September 21, 2018