At least five dead and several more missing after a train crash in Germany

A large  rescue operation was carried out over the weekend in the alpine town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Germany where a passenger train derailed on Friday.

At least five people have died - and many were still missing over the weekend, reports the TV channel BR.

During a difficult and complicated rescue operation, rescue workers searched for victims on the crashed train.

So far, five fatalities have been confirmed among the overturned railway cars. Between seven and fourteen people were still missing on Saturday, the local police told Der Spiegel.

According to the police, 44 people were also injured in the accident.

The regional train was on its way north from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich when several carriages derailed at lunchtime on Friday , local time, for unknown reasons. Among the passengers, there  were allegedly many children, according to the TV channel BR.

Several of the train's two-storey carriages were overturned next to the tracks and rescue workers had to climb into the train using ladders to rescue the victims inside. 

Late in the evening, a huge crane was requested from Munich, in order be clear the railway carriages from the tracks.

It is still unclear why the accident occured. Investigators currently have ruled out any sort of foul play or sabotage, accordin to  Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.