By Stine Jacobsen and Soren Jeppesen
COPENHAGEN, April 23 (Reuters) - Two local trains collided head-on north of the Danish capital Copenhagen on Thursday, injuring 17 people, five of whom were in a critical condition, emergency services said.
Two yellow and grey trains were seen at the site, both with visible damage to the front and facing each other in a wooded area, with rescue services describing "chaotic" scenes inside the carriages.
"The two trains collided head-on, causing large damage to them
and sending broken glass flying everywhere," fire and rescue service leader Christoffer Buhl Martekilde told reporters.
A police spokesperson said it was too early to say what had caused the crash, adding there would be an extensive investigation.
A total of 38 people are believed to have been on board the two trains at the time of the crash, which occurred shortly before 6:30 a.m. (0430 GMT), the police said.
The incident happened on a train line linking the towns of Hillerod and Kagerup, police said.
"There are injuries among the passengers. Everyone is out of the trains, so no one is trapped... Large resources have been dispatched to the scene," a spokesperson told Reuters earlier.
The injured have since been transported away from the scene of the accident in ambulances and helicopters, the fire department said on X.
(Reporting by Stine Jacobsen, Soren Jeppesen, Vera Dvorakova and Tom Little in Copenhagen, and Jesus Calero in Gdansk; writing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Sharon Singleton and Gareth Jones)
