December 28, 2023 at 11:54 am Update: one hour ago
On Wednesday around 11pm a 52-year-old man broke through a barrier at Rotterdam The Hague airport. He rammed a fence, after which he got lost for a while along the airport runway.
Military police found the man’s Mercedes-Benz near the broken gate. The airbags deployed, but “no one could be seen,” a spokesman said.
Air traffic to and from the airport was stopped “for safety”. Several police cars and a helicopter intervened to search for the man. After twenty minutes he was found. It is unclear where he was hiding.
After the arrest, the suspect was taken to nearby Franciscus Gasthuis “due to his physical and mental health status,” military police said. It is not known what the man is suffering from. The man is still hospitalized. When he is contactable again, investigations into his motives will be launched.
How it can happen that someone breaks a fence and enters the airport area is, according to the spokesperson, “a question for you, but also for me”. “An airport is incredibly large. We don’t stand watching every 3 meters with a colleague. 100% security is a utopia.”
According to the military police, no one was involved in the accident. However, a Transavia flight from Barcelona had to divert to Schiphol after circling three times over Rotterdam. The passengers arrived in Rotterdam by bus, a Transavia spokesperson said.
Image: Getty Images
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National Rotterdam
2023-12-28 10:54:31
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