Two subway trains have crashed in heavy snow in Beijing, sending 515 people to hospital, including 102 with broken bones, authorities have said.

The accident happened on Thursday evening in Beijing’s mountainous west on an above-ground portion of the sprawling subway system’s Changping line.

Slippery tracks prompted automatic braking on the leading train.

A train behind was on a descending section and went into a skid and was unable to brake in time, the city transport authority said in a statement on Friday.

Emergency medical personnel, police and transport authorities responded and all passengers were evacuated by about 11pm, it said.

Twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained in hospital on Friday morning, the authority said.

Unusually heavy snow, which began falling on Wednesday, has prompted the suspension of some train operations and school closures.

Alerts remain in place for icy roads, extreme cold and further snowfall.

Temperatures were due to fall to -11C overnight.

No deaths have been reported from the winter storms, which have struck a wide swathe of northern China.

Beijing’s winters tend to be bitterly cold but heavy snowfall is rare.