FAMILY LIVED 9 YEARS IN CELLAR.

AMSTERDAM •Amanand six young adults have been discovered after apparently living for nine years in a cellar on a remote Dutch farm, waiting “for the end of time,” according to Dutch media.

Nathalie Schubart, a police spokesman, confirmed to RTV Drenthe that a 58-yearold man had been arrested, and that six young adults were discovered in a “shut-off space” on the farm in Ruinerwold, a village in Drenthe.

She would not confirm the relationship between the people or describe the conditions they were found in or their state of health for privacy reasons, apart from to say that they had been brought to a safe location.

The alarm was sounded at the weekend by the barman at a local bar, when an unkempt 25-year-old man came in in a “confused” state on Sunday.

Chris Westerbeek, the bar owner, told RTV Drenthe: “The first time I saw him I sent him away but a few days later he came back. Last week he came in and ordered a few beers but we were going to shut.

“Last Sunday he ordered five beers and drank them. Then I talked to him. He said that he had run away and needed help. Then we called in the police.”

Dutch media reported that the young adults apparently had no contact with the outside world and survived on food from a vegetable garden and several animals on the farm. The older man was reportedly ill in bed after suffering a stroke several years ago.

Ruinerwold mayor Roger de Groot told a press conference that the man arrested was not the father of the young adults. He added that their mother is thought to have died before they moved to the farm around nine years ago and some had not been officially registered.

“I have never before been involved in such an extraordinary situation,” he said. “I understand that there are still a lot of questions, and we have them too. The police is investigating many scenarios and we cannot share any more about them at the moment. We are focusing on caring for the family.”

On its Twitter feed, the Drenthe police force said that it was investigating the situation with a forensic search of the farmhouse, a study of the area and neighbourhood, and mapping the location with the help of a drone. The force is also talking to the people discovered on the farm, although earlier reports said the man arrested was not co-operating.

Westerbeek said that the man in his bar talked in a “childlike” way, had long hair and a straggly beard, old clothes and said he had been inside for nine years.

“Later he said he had a brother and sisters who lived in the farm. He was the oldest and wanted to make an end to the way they were living.”