German broadcaster ARD reported that about 50 people had been injured after a passenger train drove into a freight train in the town of Meerbusch in Nordrhein-Westfalen region of Germany.
Residents reported hearing a “bang” as the trains collided, which was so loud that the windows shook.
The railway confirmed a National Express train and a freight train from DB Cargo are involved in the collision.
A National Express spokesman said: “The driver noticed an obstacle on the open track and immediately initiated a rapid braking. Then he left the cab and informed the passengers. “
Fire crews are working hard to get those injured out from inside the badly damaged passenger train, but overhanding power cables – whch were torn down and caught in the freight car of the freight train during the crash – are halting the operation
In a tweet, the Meerbusch fire department said the removal of people from the train was their main priority.
They added they had made contact with the passengers on board.
It is not yet clear why the freight train, which was on the way from Dillingen to Rotterdam, had stopped on the tracks.
According to BILD, the passenger train driver is said to have warned passengers before the collision.
He allegedly spotted the freight train on the tracks and started to conduct an emergency stop.
One passenger told the Rheinische Post that the train suddenly stopped and he was hurled at other passengers on impact.
Images of the damage from the fire department show the nose of the passenger train is end-to-end with the back of the freight train – with the front being smashed in by the impact.
Windows have burst out of the frames, and part of the front carriage has crumpled – leaving some of the train raised from the floor.
The Federal Police told BILD: “We assume at least 20 injured.” Other authorities suggested as many as 50 are hurt.
According to German Rail, the accident occurred at 7.30pm this evening on the route between Krefeld and Neuss.
The company and emergency services were concerned with “providing quick help to those affected and clarifying the situation,” the statement said.
Some 150 people are thought to have been on the train when it crashed this evening, according to the fire department.
Meerbusch is just a few kilometres from Dusseldorf.
MORE TO FOLLOW…