GERMAN police say a double-decker bus carrying dozens of Danish students has slammed into a small railway bridge in Munich and torn off part of the upper deck, injuring 40 people, one of them seriously.

Munich police spokeswoman Alexandra Schmeitz said the students, all between the ages of 16 and 19, were hospitalised on Sunday. A 17-year-old girl sustained serious head and spine injuries.

The Munich fire department said the driver of the bus apparently overlooked a sign saying the bridge had only a height of 3.4 metres.