COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – A passenger train on a bridge linking central Denmark’s islands hit an “unknown object” early Wednesday, killing six people and injuring 16 others, Danish police said.

12:40 p.m.

Danish police is suggesting that one possible cause of the train accident that killed six and injured 16 others was that cargo from a passing freight train fell off and hit a passenger train.

Police spokesman Lars Braemhoej added there was “considerable damage” on the passenger train, but “we do not know precisely what caused the accident.”

Police declined to comment on a report by Denmark’s TV2 channel that a container had likely fallen off the cargo train.

Braemhoej said Wednesday that the accident occurred on road-and-rail bridge that is part of the link between the island of Funen and Zealand where Copenhagen is located.

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12 noon

A spokesman for Danish brewery group Carlsberg says a freight train transporting crates of beer was involved in the fatal train accident on a Danish bridge.

Kasper Elbjoern says the company transporting the cargo “has unfortunately confirmed that the freight train that was transporting our freight has been involved in the accident.”

Police said six passengers were killed and 16 others injured in Wednesday morning’s accident on a bridge linking two central Denmark islands.

Denmark’s TV2 said a tarpaulin on a freight train hit a passenger train going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake violently.

Jesper Nielsen, a passenger on the train, told TV2 the train “was out on the bridge when there was a huge ‘bang’ …. and very quickly thereafter, the train braked.”

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11:30 a.m.

Danish police have confirmed that six people were killed and 16 others injured in the train accident on a bridge linking central Denmark’s islands.

Police said the passenger train had hit an “unknown object” but did not further comment. Danish Railways earlier told Denmark’s TV2 that the victims were passengers on a train going from the city of Odense to Copenhagen when the accident took place Wednesday morning.

Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit the passenger train, which was going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake suddenly.

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10:50 a.m.

A Danish rail operator says six people were killed in a train accident on a bridge linking central Denmark’s islands.

Danish Railways told Denmark’s TV2 that the victims were passengers on a train going from the city of Odense to Copenhagen when the accident took place Wednesday morning. Police did not confirm the fatalities, only saying several people were killed.

The company did not give a cause to the accident. Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit the passenger train, which was going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake suddenly.

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10:10 a.m.

Danish police say several people have been killed in a train accident on a bridge linking the central islands of Zealand and Funen.

Police did not provide further details about those killed or the number of people injured in Wednesday’s incident, which took place about 8 a.m. local time. Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit a passenger train going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake suddenly.

The Storebaelt bridge is part of bridges and tunnel link between the Danish islands. Police is scheduled to give a news conference later Wednesday.

The original story continues below

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – A passenger train on a bridge linking central Denmark’s islands hit an “unknown object” early Wednesday, killing six people and injuring 16 others, Danish police said.

The Storebaelt bridge is part of a system of bridges and a tunnel linking the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen.

Flemming Jensen, the CEO of state-owned Danish Railways, said police and the Danish Accident Investigation Board are investigating the damages. He said the operator “will contribute everything that we can to the investigations.”

In a statement, police urged passengers to contact next of kin to inform them of their safety and urged people not to share photos and videos of the accident.

The accident took place on a road-and-rail bridge, part of a transport system consisting of a road suspension bridge and a railway tunnel.

The transport system was closed to cars overnight because of strong winds but trains could pass. Road traffic resumed Wednesday with a 50 kph (31 mph) speed limit.

king central Denmark’s islands hit an “unknown object” early Wednesday, killing six people and injuring 16 others, Danish police said.

The rail operator, Danish Railways, earlier told Denmark’s TV2 that the victims were passengers on a train going from the city of Odense, on the central Danish island of Fyn, to Copenhagen when the accident took place about 8 a.m. local time.

Danish media reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit the passenger train, which was going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake violently. Police spokesman Arne Gram said the passenger train “hit an unknown object,” but did not further comment.

Photos from the scene show the freight train was carrying crates of beer, and the tarpaulin that covered the train was torn in pieces.

Kasper Elbjoern, spokesman for Danish brewery group Carlsberg, confirmed that a freight train transporting its cargo was involved in the accident.

Jesper Nielsen, who was on the passenger train, told Denmark’s TV2 the train “was out on the bridge when there was a huge ‘bang’ …. very quickly thereafter, the train braked.”