Residents of the small town of Wallenfels in northern Bavaria were in shock after police said that "several" baby corpses were found in a property on Thursday afternoon.

"Officers found several bodies of infants. The police and prosecutor... believe that there are probably seven dead," police said in a statement.

The corpses were discovered after emergency services responded to a call.

The corpses are expected to undergo an autopsy on Friday, but police said it could take several days to examine "due to the poor condition" of some of the bodies.

It is unclear how long the bodies were in the house or how the infants died.

Police said they have been unable to find a 45 year old woman who previously inhabited the house.

The town's mayor, Jens Korn, was reported by German news website "Focus Online" as saying that he knew the family but would not reveal anymore details.

"I am speechless. We are a small, lively community with 2,800 inhabitants, who all know each other. We are very emotional over this and are asking ourselves, 'Was there something we could have done? Could we have helped?'" Korn said.

A forensics team and the Coburg district attorney are investigating the scene.

cw/rc (AFP, dpa)