Several people have been injured after a passenger train hit a freight train near the German city of Dusseldorf, fire department and police spokesmen said.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said a passenger train of the regional provider National Express drove into a DB Cargo freight train about 6:30pm GMT in the town of Meerbusch.

The Meerbusch Fire Department said up to 150 passengers were on the train and five people suffered injuries.

A police spokesman earlier had told German broadcaster ARD that about 50 people had been injured in the train crash.

Emergency crews were on the scene and were helping unload people from the passenger train.

A photo tweeted by the Meerbusch Fire Department showed the train partially derailed but still upright.

A German government spokesman said Chancellor Angela Merkel had been briefed on the situation.

Reuters