Two commuter trains crashed head-on in southern Germany, killing at least eight people and injuring more than 100, in one of the country's deadliest rail accidents in years.
The "tragic accident occurred on the single-track route between Rosenheim and Holzkirchen this morning shortly after 7:00 am (0600 GMT)," regional rail company Meridian, a subsidiary of the French group Transdev, said in a statement.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear.
Hundreds of rescuers raced to pull passengers from the wreckage in a wooded area near Bad Aibling, a spa town about 60 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Munich.
Several carriages were derailed, with blue, yellow and silver metal debris left strewn around the crash site next to a river in the southern state of Bavaria.
"We have eight dead on the trains," said police spokesman Juergen Thaimeier.
A total of 126 people were injured, including 15 critically and another 40 with serious injuries, said national rail operator Deutsche Bahn.
The two train drivers and a conductor were among the dead, local broadcaster Bayerische Rundfunk reported.
At least 100 firemen were deployed in the rescue operation, which was complicated because the forest crash site was difficult to access, said Thaimeier.
Rescuers focused on the impact area of the trains, using electric saws to cut through the mangled wreckage.
Photo Credit: Micheal Dalder- Reuters
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