A train derailed and overturned after hitting a vehicle in southern Hungary on Tuesday, leaving five people dead and others injured, police said.

The accident happened just before 7am in the town of Mindszent.

Police said a truck carrying workers drove on to the train tracks and was hit by a train, which derailed from the force of the collision.

Seven men were travelling in the van at the time of the collision, according to Hungarian state news agency MTI.

Five were killed and two others taken to hospital with serious injuries, the police said.

In a statement, Hungarian state railways said that all those killed had been travelling in the truck.

It said that 22 people were on the train at the time of the collision. Two passengers were seriously hurt and eight others suffered mild injuries.

Ten ambulances and a helicopter were sent to the scene, according to a spokesman for the national ambulance service.

Csongrad-Csanad county police said they had closed the road during the on-site inspection and rescue.