German train crash near Magdeburg leaves 10 dead

LONDON. January 30. KAZINFORM. At least 10 people are reported to have died in a train crash in eastern Germany.

A local passenger train and a goods train collided head-on in the state of Saxony-Anhalt late on Saturday, near the city of Magdeburg.

The passenger train, the HarzElbeExpress, was travelling on a single track section between Magdeburg and Halberstadt.

The cause of the crash, which left 33 injured, is unclear.

Several carriages were derailed after the collision near the village of Hordorf at about 2230 (2130 GMT).

"Rescue operations are still ongoing. The death toll may well rise further," said regional police spokesman Frank Kuessner said.

More than 150 firemen, police and rescue workers were at the scene, AFP reported.

The passenger train "was the last train of the evening out of Magdeburg" on the line - a single track on which overnight engineering work was scheduled.

A spokesman for Veolia, the company which runs the HarzElbeExpress service, said that the train had a capacity of about 100 people. About 45 people were on board at the time of the crash, Kazinform cites BBC News.

To read more visit www.bbc.co.uk .