An east German regional train struck a car and derailed today, injuring more than 20 people, officials said.

The car had been hit by another vehicle and pushed onto the tracks in Lauterbach, between Leipzig and Chemnitz, federal police spokesman Torsten Henkel said. The driver of the car managed to get out before the accident, Mr Henkel said. He added three of the train cars derailed and one tipped over on its side.

Six people were seriously injured and another 15 received minor injuries, according to local officials.

Helicopters flew the most seriously injured to local hospitals for treatment.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.