Five people are injured after passenger train collides with a freight train in western Germany

Five people have been injured after a passenger train and freight train smashed into each other. The horrific smash occurred near Meerbusch-Osterath station, on the outskirts of Dusseldorf in the west of the country. Hanging overhead electric cables prevented rescue teams from reaching the injured, but the first casualties have now started being pulled from the wreckage.

At around 7.30pm local time, a National Express train from Cologne to Krefeld with more than 100 passengers on board, collided with the DB Cargo train. According to the private operator National Express - which is a subsidiary of the British coach company - the freight train was stood stationary in the middle of the tracks.  The National Express driver was freed from his mangled cab by firefighters, the federal police said.
A National Express spokesman told Bild newspaper that the driver 'noticed an obstacle on the track and immediately hit the emergency brake'. Photographs showed the passenger vehicle partially derailed but still standing upright.