21 feb 2024 om 14:56 Update: 14 minuten geleden
Someone fell into the water this morning following a collision between a ship and an oil platform in the Botlek. According to the safety region, that person’s chance of survival is not high. Police are now searching for the body for recovery.
What exactly happened is still being investigated, a spokesperson for the Rotterdam-Rijnmond Safety Region told NU.nl.
In any case, work was underway on a drilling platform in the Botlek. A crane vessel collided with a scaffolding where someone was working. As a result, that person ended up in the water.
“We were alerted at half past twelve,” the spokesperson said. When someone ends up in the water, you can speak of a ‘golden hour’. “Within an hour and a half there is still a chance of survival if you have to get someone out of the water. They haven’t found anyone yet. You can keep looking, but at a certain point it really stops.”
The safety region therefore stopped the rescue operation and transferred the work to the police. A special recovery team is now looking for the missing person, who has probably drowned.
The Dutch Labor Inspectorate will investigate the accident on site. According to a spokesperson, the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) is starting with an “exploration”. It is still unclear whether the OVV will also come to the port and open an investigation.
