At least four people are murdered as a train derails in the southern German Alps.

Authorities reported at least four people were killed and many more were injured in a train accident in the Alps in southern Germany on Friday.

The regional train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich appears to have derailed just after noon near Burgrain, just outside the resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, according to police. Three of the double-deck carriages overturned at least partially, and passengers were rescued by being yanked out of the windows.

The reason for this was not immediately apparent.

Four individuals were killed, according to police on Twitter. They estimated that roughly 30 people were injured, 15 of them were critically hurt and taken to hospitals.

The number of passengers on the train at the time of the accident remained unknown.

North of the accident scene, the line between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Oberau was shut down. The location is close to the Austrian border.