At least eight people were killed and 150 others were injured early Tuesday after two commuter trains collided head-on in southe Germany.
Police spokesman Stefan Sotag said that 50 of the injured were severely hurt.
The trains crashed on a single track shortly before 7 a.m. (1 a.m. EST) near the spa town of Bad Aibling, approximately 35 miles southeast of Munich. The crash site is located in a densely wooded and hilly region near the river Mangfall, making rescue operations more challenging.
Federal police spokesman Stefan Brandl said the numbers of dead and injured would change, describing the latest casualty figures as "a snapshot."
"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," said Sotag, who added that some people were still stuck inside the wreckage of the train and rescue persoel were trying to free them.
A statement from the trains' operator Bayerische Oberlandbahn, said both trains had partially derailed and were wedged into each other. Neither the operator nor authorities were able to address possible causes of the collison.
TV footage showed emergency helicopters and ambulances lined up in an area near the crash scene waiting to transport the most severely injured to hospitals. Water police were helping in the rescue efforts as well, the Germany news agency dpa reported, taking injured from the trains across the river to waiting ambulances.
Sotag said several rescue helicopters from Austria were also involved.
Dpa quoted Bed Rosenbusch, the head of the Bayerische Oberlandbahn, as saying, "this is a huge shock - we are doing everything to help the passengers, relatives and employees."
Both the trains' operator and federal police in Bavaria have activated phone hotlines for family and relatives.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.