Eight confirmed dead in train accident on Danish bridge

Police in Denmark have said the death toll from yesterday’s accident has risen from six to eight. The accident occurred on the Great Belt Bridge connecting the islands of Zealand, where Copenhagen is located, and Funen.

Rescuers are working to free around 100 passengers who remain trapped on board.

The debris struck the commuter train - running from Odense to the capital Copenhagen - at about 07:35 local time (06:35 GMT).

A passenger train was heading towards the capital when it was hit by objects or tarpaulin from a freight train, according to Banedanmark, which is responsible for maintenance and traffic control of the railway network.

A preliminary investigation by the Danish Accident Investigation Board showed a trailer had blown off a freight wagon onto the oncoming tracks, a spokesman said.

Five women and three men were killed in the accident.

"Ordinary Danes on their way to work or home from Christmas holidays have had their lives broken," Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen tweeted, saying the accident had "shaken us all".

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven also tweeted to say he had spoken to Mr Rasmussen after the "terrible accident".

Images from the scene show heavy goods vehicle trailers on the freight train with their sides torn off.

Emergency services reportedly struggled in the bad weather to reach the passenger train, which came to a stop on the bridge.

"There was a loud crash and the windows started smashing onto our heads," passenger Heidi Langberg Zumbusch told Danish broadcaster DR. "We flew down onto the floor, and then the train stopped."

Zumbusch said fellow passengers told her the side of the carriage in front of theirs had been ripped off.

"We were lucky. The people in the carriage in front of us were not so lucky," she said.

There were 131 passengers and three crew members on board at the time of the accident.

Tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge every day, and the storm had already caused several accidents on the road section earlier on Tuesday.