Six people dead and seven injured after truck ‘ploughs into neighbourhood barbecue’

SIX people have been killed and seven others injured after a truck crashed into a neighbourhood BBQ.

The tragic incident happened in the town of Nieuw Beijerland in the Netherlands on Saturday around 7pm.

Seven people were rushed to hospital - including one in a critical condition - after the driver sped through the crowd at the annual party.

Several ambulances and helicopters were deployed to the scene to transfer those injured to hospital.

Police spokeswoman Mirjam Boers said the truck driver, a 46-year-old Spanish man, is suspected of causing the horror accident.

Boers said the driver was not drunk at the time of the crash.

The large truck he was driving left a small rural road, careered down a bank and plowed into the village gathering.

A police spokesperson said the force "utilised a lot of emergency workers in the incident”.

Spokeswoman Elianne Mastwijk told local broadcaster Rijnmond: "At some point a truck went off the road and crashed into the party."

Mastwijk said it is currently unclear what caused the incident as the truck has not yet been removed from the site.

It is also unclear why the driver, said to be in shock, sped towards the group. He is being spoken to by police.

Officers are working under the assumption that the crash was an accident, reports claim.

Pictures published by local media show a heavy truck from a Spanish transport company at the bottom of a small dyke, amid broken picnic tables.

The mayor of Hoeksche Waard, Charlie Aptroot described it as a "horrible accident in such a small, tight-knit community as Nieuw-Beijerland".