Dozens Injured As Train Smashes Into Car

Up to 50 people have been injured after a train slammed into a car at a railway crossing and derailed in Germany.

According to reports, the car driver narrowly escaped the vehicle moments before the crash.

Three of the train's four carriages came off the tracks on impact, one of them ending up on its side in a nearby field.

The mangled wreckage of the car was found nearby.

There were around 70 passengers on the train at the time of the smash, which happened at Bad Lausick, around 200km south of the capital Berlin.

Nine people have reportedly been seriously injured and had to be flown by helicopter to local hospitals for treatment.

A further 40 people received minor injuries.

Federal police spokesman Torsten Henkel said the cause of the crash is being investigated, but added that early indications are that the car was shunted onto the tracks by a van.

German railway operator Deutsche Bahn said train traffic had been re-routed while rescue crews clear the debris from the scene.