Thirteen people were injured, three of them severely, as a result of an accident on the Xanten-Duisburg railway in Germany, reports Spiegel.

The regional train crashed into the side of a parked freight train at a level crossing around 7:30am, a German police spokesperson said.

The spox added that none of the injuries of those affected are life-threatening.

A rescue helicopter was used.

The aforesaid railway route has since been closed.

According to the German police spokesperson, the regional train, in which there were about 30 people, had entered the adjacent track while moving and hit the locomotive of the freight train that was parked there.

But the accident did not cause derailment, and both trains remained on the tracks.