Police have reported that a motorway crash near the east German city of Leipzig has resulted in four fatalities and 35 injuries.

According to authorities, a FlixBus coach traveling on the busy A9 autobahn veered to the right before overturning. The bus, which departed from Berlin with two drivers and 52 passengers, was en route to Nuremberg with Zurich as its final destination.

Officials from Saxony expressed their condolences to the victims of the tragedy.

Initially, there were reports of five fatalities, but police later confirmed four deaths, with a fifth person in critical condition.

In total, six individuals sustained severe injuries, while 29 suffered minor injuries.

FlixBus, established in Munich in 2011, operates long-distance coach services across Europe, America, and Asia.

The company stated that the accident occurred around 10:00 local time (09:00 GMT) on the A9 motorway, which runs from Berlin to Munich. The crash took place approximately two hours into the bus's southbound journey, near Leipzig/Halle Airport to the northwest of the city.

German police informed the media that no other vehicles were involved in the incident.

"The exact circumstances of the accident are not yet known," the company said in a statement, adding that the long-distance service was being run on behalf of FlixBus. "Our thoughts are with all those affected by this accident and their families."

Police said rescue helicopters and a large number of ambulances had been immediately called to the scene.

Local hospitals were told to prepare for a major emergency. Both carriageways on the autobahn were closed near the Schkeuditzer Kreuz interchange.

Coaches have crashed in the past on the A9 motorway near Leipzig, most recently in December. A woman was killed in a coach accident on the A9 in 2019, some 20km (12 miles) south of Wednesday's crash in the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

EPA Emergency personnel work at the scene of a bus accident on the A9 highway in Schkeuditz, near Leipzig, Germany, 27 March

Ok