Tragedy In Vredestein’s Home Town

The world’s media have reported in full the tragedy which struck the Dutch town of Enschede recently. A fireworks factory in a built-up area exploded, and the fire which followed completed the devastation. Enschede is the home town of tyre manufacturer Vredestein and the company has been affected, both in output and, infinitely more tragically, by loss of life.

To date, the death toll stands at 18, but there are another 14 people unaccounted for, plus there were over 600 wounded, most of whom are still in hospital. Vredestein’s MD Rob Oudshoorn said that one company employee is reported missing, as are his wife and one child, while two other children have survived. Another employee lost two children who were killed while staying at his wife’s parents.

The in-laws also died. Property was devastated too and 14 Vredestein employees lost their homes completely, while another 29 employees had their houses severely damaged. Mr.

Oudshoorn paid tribute to the Vredestein volunteer fire brigade, who were on the scene of the disaster from the start, working alongside the local and regional fire-fighters in their efforts to contain and extinguish the blaze. Not surprisingly, some of them are still suffering from emotional shock. Obviously, production at the Vredestein plant was affected as people stayed at home to help clear up, or to search for those missing.

On Monday, 70 employees stayed away, and at the end of the week, there were still around forty helping family and friends to salvage something from the wreckage. Vredestein expects production to be back to normal by the beginning of week 21, towards the end of May..