This story first emerged in the form of a Facebook post by paramedic Martijn Hendriks, one of the personnel aboard the ambulance. In his post, he explains that they had crossed the border without trouble, but around 10km further down the road — by the Liefkenshoektunnel — they were stopped by a barrier.
They reportedly waited around 10 minutes before finally getting through to an operator via the intercom at the barrier, and to be told they would not be able to pass through as expected, but would in fact have to pay the €6 toll fee before preceding. Driving up to the toll booth, matters were further complicated by the operators refusal to accept their ‘corona infected [cash] money’.
DutchNews.nl followed up on the story, speaking to Marc Persoon, the general director of the Liefkenshoektunnel. They quote him as saying that the incident “shouldn’t have happened,” and that they have “a procedure where emergency vehicles that are recorded in our system are allowed through without paying the toll.”
