03:36Netherlands: Family found living in cellar for 9 years 'waiting for end of time'
Dutch police launched an investigation on Tuesday after a 58-year-old man and six young adults, aged 18 to 25, were discovered living in the cellar of their farmhouse in the village of Ruinerwold and 'waiting for the end of time', reports say.
Footage shows the farmhouse where the family reportedly lived and police officers at the scene.
According to Dutch media, the alarm was raised after a 25-year-old male visited a local pub and after drinking several beers told the landlord that he and his brothers and sisters had been living for nine years in the farm's cellar and needed help.
"There was a family there who have lived there in the cellar for years and years. They were self-supporting. They had a vegetable garden. They did everything themselves. I don't know how they managed to do that. They need help. They need psychological help," a local resident said at the scene.
Police then arrived at farmhouse where they discovered a hidden stairway behind a cupboard which led down to a basement room where the family was housed. The 58-year-old, who is reportedly not the father of the children, was arrested at the scene and is being investigated after refusing to co-operate.
03:36NO ACCESS GERMANY
Dutch police launched an investigation on Tuesday after a 58-year-old man and six young adults, aged 18 to 25, were discovered living in the cellar of their farmhouse in the village of Ruinerwold and 'waiting for the end of time', reports say.
Footage shows the farmhouse where the family reportedly lived and police officers at the scene.
According to Dutch media, the alarm was raised after a 25-year-old male visited a local pub and after drinking several beers told the landlord that he and his brothers and sisters had been living for nine years in the farm's cellar and needed help.
"There was a family there who have lived there in the cellar for years and years. They were self-supporting. They had a vegetable garden. They did everything themselves. I don't know how they managed to do that. They need help. They need psychological help," a local resident said at the scene.
Police then arrived at farmhouse where they discovered a hidden stairway behind a cupboard which led down to a basement room where the family was housed. The 58-year-old, who is reportedly not the father of the children, was arrested at the scene and is being investigated after refusing to co-operate.