The two men killed after being hit by a train at Rotterdam Zuid station on Sunday evening were fooling around and lay deliberately between the tracks, the AD says on Monday.

Eyewitnesses told the paper the two men climbed onto the tracks and appeared to be daring each other about how long they could wait until a train reached them.

Police have confirmed that this one of the options they are considering in their investigation. However, they have not ruled out other scenarios, such as suicide or a crime, the AD says.

Rails

‘I saw someone lying between the rails with his arms close to his body,’ one witness told the paper. ‘A second person sat close to him, on the edge of the platform. It looked like a stunt, as if they were trying to see how close they would let the train get to them.’ 

The train tried to brake but hit the two men, who have not yet been identified. Some 300 people were on board the train, which had arrived in Rotterdam from Dordrecht.

The incident took place at around 18.00 hours, over an hour after the end of the Ajax-Feyenoord football match. There were both football fans and ordinary passengers waiting in the station, the AD says.