Driver who attacked Dutch royal parade dies

A Dutchman who tried to attack Queen Beatrix and her family by driving his car at their bus during a parade yesterday died of his injuries overnight, the public prosecutor said.

Five people died and about a dozen were injured when the car ploughed through a crowd of spectators, missing the bus by four or five metres, before slamming into a monument in the centre of Apeldoorn, about 90 km east of Amsterdam.

The prosecutor said the 38-year-old man died early today. He had been charged with an attempted attack on the royal family and had told police his actions were deliberately directed towards them.

The motive for the attack was unclear. No weapons or explosives were found when police searched his house, Dutch news agency ANP reported, and there were no signs that others were involved in planning the attack.

Queen Beatrix was accompanied by Princess Maxima, wife of heir Willem-Alexander, and her other children in the open-top bus which was heading to a palace in Apeldoorn as part of the annual Queen's Day festivities.