20 injured as two cranes topple onto houses in western Netherland

Baku. 7 August. REPORT.AZ/ About 20 people have been injured in the western Dutch town of Alphen aan den Rijn after two cranes working on a bridge upgrade toppled onto houses, the fire brigade says, Report informs citing foreign media.

"Two cranes and the stretch of roadway they were carrying fell on five houses in all," Ton Koot, brigade spokesman for firefighters of the central Netherlands region, said.

"There are about 20 injured," he said, giving preliminary figures from first responders, who were being aided by air-ambulance helicopters.

The cranes, working from barges, were renovating the Queen Juliana Bridge, a canal bridge dating from the 1950s, when the first machine went down.

Unbalanced by the extra load, the second crane also fell.

Dutch TV channel NOS said the cranes fell on a second-hand clothing store and another shop selling art and drawing supplies, but it was unclear how many people were inside at the time.