Difficult to believe but a Dutch family of seven spent nine years in isolation in a basement. They were "waiting for the end of time." The head of the family was 58 years old and bedridden while age of the young adults ranged from 18 to 25. It all happened in the province of Drenthe in the Netherlands and the details became known, thanks to the initiative taken by one of the inmates. He happened to be the eldest son of the family. One day, he turned up in a local pub, had some beer, confided to the staff about the situation and requested for help.

BBC provides details of what transpired. The bar owner Chris Westerbeek said the man entered the pub, ordered five beers and drunk them. From his appearance, it was obvious that there was something wrong. He had long unkempt hair and beard, the clothes he wore were old and he looked confused. The owner chatted him up, learnt about his siblings, and his desire to end the way of life he had been through. He admitted that he had never been to school. The bar owner finally called the police.

A hard-to-visualize situation

When officers visited the farmhouse, they came across a hidden staircase behind a cupboard in the living room.

It led down to a basement room where the family lived. The man who had come to the pub seeking help lived there with his brothers and sisters. The farm is outside the village of Ruinerwold, which has a population of less than 3,000. Access to the farm, partially concealed by a row of trees, is via a bridge over a canal. It is difficult to imagine people, especially youngsters in the age group of 18 to 25, living in total isolation for nine years from 2010 onwards.

BBC goes on to add the police arrested a man but he was neither the father nor the owner of the farmhouse.

Police have cordoned off the farmhouse and surrounding grounds. The local mayor Roger de Groot said - "I've never seen anything like it." People are curious to know more and those who know something like the postman are trying to piece together tidbits to make some sort of picture. The 58-year-old father had suffered a heart stroke. He was bed ridden and the mother had died earlier as confirmed by the mayor.

Police have arranged for their treatments

According to Sky News, police have rescued the family of seven adults and arranged for their treatments. They were in a secret room on the premises of the farmhouse in the village near Ruinerwold, which is around 80 miles from Amsterdam. They had apparently not been in contact with the outside world for nine years and were counting the days waiting for the "end of time." The family survived on vegetables and animals in their garden.

Images captured by drones showed a cluster of buildings with a large vegetable garden surrounded by a fence and mostly hidden from eyes by trees. Such stories tend to go viral and people are curious to know what prompted the family to opt for an isolated existence devoid of the necessities of today.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED