At least three people have died and several have been injured in the crash of a regional train that derailed in the Bavarian Alps in southern Germany, local police said on Friday.

Several wagons of the train making the Garmisch-Partenkirchen connection came off the rails at Burgrain, causing the death of three people and injuring an "undetermined number of other passengers", the Bavarian police said in a press release.

“Rescue and evacuation operations continue at a steady pace” on the spot, added the police. Help was also sent from neighboring Austria.

Photos published by German media show the partially derailed regional train, wagons lying in a wooded area, in a mountainous region.

Victims were taken care of on the spot by doctors.

The cause of the accident and the exact number of injured are not known at this stage.

The accident occurred about ten kilometers from the site where the summit of the G7 leaders will be held at the end of June, planned in the 5-star complex of the Elmau castle.

It came two days after the entry into force of a monthly pass of 9 euros allowing you to take regional trains throughout Germany, an offer that has won over many Germans.