Germany train: Collision near Düsseldorf injures dozens Published duration 6 December 2017

image copyright AFP

More than 40 people have been injured in a train crash near the German city of Düsseldorf, emergency services say.

A passenger train collided with a freight train near the town of Meerbusch, in North Rhine-Westphalia, on Tuesday night.

Of 173 people on board, seven people were badly injured and one suffered serious injuries, the Meerbusch fire department said.

Another 33 people had minor injuries and 132 were unhurt, it added.

The fire department's operation finished at around 02:20 (00:20 GMT).

All passengers had left the train in a rescue operation that at its peak involved 400 people, it said.

Casualty estimates escalated rapidly overnight from an early figure of about five people.

image copyright Twitter/@FWMeerbusch

Rescue efforts were hindered by a broken cable which "posed a risk of electric shock to persons outside the train".

The accident occurred at about 19:30, according to a statement from Germany's state-owned railway group, Deutsche Bahn.

The train, operated by a subsidiary of Britain's National Express bus company, apparently collided with a stationary cargo train on the track.

A spokesman for the company told Germany's Bild newspaper that the driver had hit the emergency brake when he saw the other vehicle on the track.