Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement

At least 66 people have been injured in a mass pile-up involving 259 cars on a motorway in north Germany, police say.

Ten people are said to be fighting for their lives in hospital after the series of crashes on the A2 between Hanover and Peine on Sunday evening.

Police said the pile-up was believed to have been caused by a combination of heavy rain and excessive speed.

Rescue workers were busy throughout the night treating the injured and clearing damaged cars from the motorway.

"I have not seen anything like this before. I have seen many accidents but never a pile-up this size," said firefighter Klaus Wulfes.

One of the drivers said his car had been hit from behind and pushed into a ditch, from which his family were able to escape unharmed.

"All I did was turn around to check on my little son, our son. That was my only thought," he told the Reuters news agency.