Trains Collide Head-On In Germany, Several Deaths, Injuries Reported

UPDATE: 12:25 p.m. EST — The death toll from Tuesday's fatal train crash in Germany has risen to 10 after a passenger who was hospitalized succumbed to injuries sustained in the disaster, a police official told NBC News. Previous reports of 150 injuries were adjusted to about 80 people. Fifteen of those who were injured were listed as being in "severe" condition.

UPDATE: 7 a.m. EST — The number of injured in the train accident in southern Germany has been revised downward to 108 by the German police, BNO News reported, adding that 18 people were seriously injured. The police had earlier said over 150 had been injured, of whom 55 were seriously hurt.

The police also said two people were not accounted for. According to AFP, police spokesman Juergen Thalmeier said there were “two missing people, who are very likely still in the wreckage,” BBC reported.

UPDATE: 6:01 a.m. EST — German police announced on Twitter that nine people have been confirmed dead after two passenger trains collided head-on early Tuesday in the southern state of Bavaria. Officials also said all survivors of the accident have been rescued, while a dead body remained trapped in the wreckage.

UPDATE: 5:50 a.m. EST — Drivers of both the trains and two train guards were among the eight killed, regional broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk cited the police as saying, according to the BBC. Train operator Meridian said both the trains derailed partially and were wedged into each other, the BBC reported.

UPDATE: 5:15 a.m. EST — Police in Germany have confirmed at least eight deaths in the train collision in Bavaria.

The two trains collided in a region with difficult terrain, with a forest on one side and river on the other, which is hampering rescue operations, a police spokesman told the Associated Press.

UPDATE: 4:30 a.m. EST — The total number of injured people is over 150, of whom about 55 were seriously wounded, according to German police.

UPDATE: 3:50 a.m. EST — German police confirmed on Twitter four people had died while at least 15 were seriously injured. The tweet, in German, also put the total number of injured at about 100.

UPDATE: 3:30 a.m. EST — Police confirmed at least 150 victims, including several deaths and at least 10 people who were severely injured, in Tuesday's train collision in Germany's Bavaria state, BNO News reported.

A police spokesman told the Associated Press (AP) that at least two people had died, but could not specify the exact numbers of the dead or the injured due to the confusion at the accident scene.

“This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region and we have many emergency doctors, ambulances and helicopters on the scene,” police spokesman Stefan Sonntag told AP, adding that some people were still stuck inside the wreckage. Train services in the area have been halted. The cause of the collision was not yet known, according to the BBC.

Original story:

Several people were reported killed and scores injured when two trains collided head-on in the southern Bavaria state in Germany. The accident took place shortly before 7 a.m. local time (1 a.m. EST) Tuesday.

The accident took place in the town of Bad Aibling in southeast Germany, about 25 miles from Munich, and involved two passenger trains run by local train operator Meridian, BNO News reported. Emergency services who rushed to the spot found one of the trains had derailed and several coaches were overturned, according to the BBC.

A major rescue operation is underway, involving at least 11 air ambulances. There was no immediate word on the number of casualties, but police reportedly said several people were killed and many more injured. Local media are reporting about 100 casualties, including those dead or injured.

Due to ongoing carnival celebrations in Bavaria this week, the trains were believed to be carrying fewer passengers than normal, Deutsche Welle reported.