Ten children who were attending a holiday club in Capelle a/d IJssel had a lucky escape on Tuesday afternoon when the electric wagon they were sitting in came off the path and landed on its side in a ditch.

The children, who were aged four to 12 and were all wearing safety belts, were pulled to safety by the driver and passersby.

“The children were crying but luckily our group leaders could help them quickly,” club owner Jair Dias Santos told the Telegraaf.

Mees Naaraat from Zwolle was among the eyewitnesses who leapt into the ditch to help. “It was only later that you realise it could have been much worse,” he said.

The accident happened when the wagon – a sort of large electric cargo bike without pedals, known by the trade name BSO-bus – had to move to the side of the bike path to let an electric wheelchair through. But one wheel left the concrete track and the wagon tipped over into the ditch.

The police say the accident was the result of an unlucky combination of factors. “The 10 children were shocked but unharmed,” a spokesman told the paper. The vehicle itself will be checked over by police technical experts in line with protocol.

In 2018, four children were killed in an accident involving a similar wagon, when it ploughed into a train at a level crossing near Oss. The vehicles were removed from the roads for a time but allowed back in 2020 after some technical modifications, including the addition of seat belts.