Police are investigating the death of a 21-year-old woman in an accident in a theatre car park on Sunday morning.

The woman was found lying under a heavy iron sliding door that serves as the artists’ entrance to De Kring theatre in Roosendaal. Photographs show the door had come off its guide rails and was lying on the ground.

Theatre director Jan-Hein Sloesen said the woman from Moerstraten had worked at De Kring for three years, after starting as an intern. It is thought she was arriving for work on Saturday evening when the accident happened.

“It is too early to say much,” Sloesen said. “My thoughts go out to her family. I will visit them later. And of course my colleagues.”

Mayor Mark Buijs said the incident would be fully investigated by the Netherlands Labour Authority. “I am in close contact with the police and other emergency services,” he told Omroep Brabant.

He added that he had spoken to theatre staff at the venue on Sunday morning. “They are deeply affected,” he said. “Our thoughts go out to the victim’s family, friends, associates and colleagues. I wish them much strength in this difficult time in which a loved one has unexpectedly lost her life in a terrible accident.”

Two performances by a local dance group that were scheduled to take place at the theatre on Sunday were cancelled.