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Train driver in Amsterdam crash may have been blinded by low sun - report

The driver of one of the two trains involved in Saturday’s fatal rail crash may have missed a red signal because she was blinded by the sun, investigators have said.

An initial report by ProRail and the accident investigation team found that the low evening sun may have been a factor in the collision, which happened at about 6pm near Sloterdijk station.

A 68-year-old woman died in hospital from injuries she suffered when a local Sprinter train and an InterCity train crashed just outside Sloterdijk station.

A journalist from the Volkskrant newspaper who was on board the Sprinter train said the driver had come into the carriage moments before and told passengers she had driven through a red light.

In a report seen by the state broadcaster NOS, ProRail said that an inspection of the train had revealed no mechanical defects.

A total of 117 passengers were injured in the low-speed collision, 42 of them seriously.

The investigation into the cause of the crash is being handled by the public prosecutor’s office in Amsterdam.

Source: NRC: ProRail en inspectie: machinist ongeluk Amsterdam had last van de zon

Photo by Marc Schouwenaars

Read previous story: Fatal train crash probably caused by driver missing red signal