A passenger train carrying at least 50 people derailed in the Netherlands on Tuesday after hitting construction equipment on the track and several people were ‘seriously injured’, Dutch emergency services said.

A fire broke out in at least one of the carriages, ANP news agency said.

Earlier reports had said the train collided with a freight train.

The front carriage of the passenger train derailed and ploughed into a field after the accident, ANP said. The second carriage was on its side and a fire broke out in the rear carriage, it said.

Rescue teams were at the scene of the accident near Voorschoten, a village between The Hague and Leiden city, a notice from the emergency services said.

Dutch Railways (NS) said in a tweet that trains between Leiden and parts of The Hague were cancelled due to the accident.