A 63-year-old man died after the car he was in went into the water on Sunday evening, around 21:30, at the ramp of the Dordrecht–Werkendam ferry. NOS, with Rijnmond, writes on Monday that the other two in the car — a 62-year-old woman and a teenager — are in hospital. Their condition is not known. The cause is under investigation. The teenager is not named.

All three were pulled from the water and resuscitated at the scene, according to Rijnmond. The man died later in hospital. Police, AD writes, speak of an unfortunate accident without yet knowing how the car entered the water. That is not a conviction and not a closed cause: it is a recorded death and an open inquiry.

The ramp belongs to the Biesbosch ferry. The road runs into the boarding ramp. There is no barrier or gate. The ferry ran, on timetable, until 18:15; the crash is after it had stopped. On Monday morning the car was lifted out; the first crossing left at 7:15 instead of 6:00, AD writes.

In December 2024 a woman also died here, her car in the water. After that death the municipality put up extra fluorescent warning signs, including on the Werkendam bank. Councillors had also asked for a barrier; it was not fitted. The municipality says the present lighting meets the rules and is waiting for the police inquiry before new measures. Flashing lights already run day and night at the ramp.

In 2020 and 2022 other cars went into the water at the same place; the drivers got out unhurt, NOS writes. The local VSP party is again calling for a barrier, through councillor Leo Stolk: at night, he says, you see “a black hole”. A neighbour, Krijn Kooijman, told RTV Dordrecht the signs are enough if you keep to a normal speed. That is a local argument, not a finding of the inquiry.

Monday’s closed fact is the death of the 63-year-old man. The rest — why the car went in, how the woman and the teenager are, whether a barrier is fitted — remains open.

Image: Kop van 't Land ferry, Dordrecht–Werkendam, 24 April 2017, Paul van de Velde, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The boat by day, not Sunday night’s ramp and not the car in the water.

Sources consulted: Opnieuw fataal ongeluk bij veerpontoprit Dordrecht, man (63) overleden — NOS; Toedracht ongeval waarbij man (63) overleed nog onduidelijk — AD.