Three people died in a traffic accident on federal highway 87 near Eilenburg in northern Saxony. This was announced by a spokeswoman for the police. According to the information, there are two women and one man, they died at the scene of the accident, it said. Five other people were injured Thursday, some seriously. Around 10.45 a.m. south of Eilenburg, a car collided with several vehicles and a truck.

According to the police, the car had swerved into oncoming traffic, triggering the tragedy. The police headquarters in Leipzig assumed on Thursday afternoon that the car driving in the direction of Torgau came across the other lane for reasons that have not yet been clarified and then collided with three other cars and a truck.

Four people in the hospital

The identity of the victims was initially not disclosed. Four other occupants from the vehicles involved were taken to hospitals. Some are said to have suffered serious injuries. The truck driver was treated as an outpatient.

Images of the accident give an impression of the force with which the vehicles collided. Photos of the scene of the accident showed heavily deformed cars and a plethora of debris. Numerous rescue workers and police officers were deployed.

The federal highway 87 was completely closed after the accident between Eilenburg-Ost and Doberschütz on Thursday morning. An expert from Dekra and a representative of the public prosecutor's office are involved in the investigation.