Two-year-old child killed in head-on car crash just over the German border

A two-year-old child was killed in a collision between two cars with Dutch license plates in Selfkant, Germany. The accident scene is just across the border from the Limburg city of Sittard.

The other passengers, including a 4-year-old child, were taken to hospital with serious injuries, German police said. In total,

Police said the head-on collision happened on Friday afternoon around 5 p.m. Both drivers were trapped and had to be freed by emergency services. They were rescued when firefighters arrived with heavy hydraulic equipment, the Selfkant Volunteer Fire Department said.

The 2-year-old child died at the scene of the accident, German police reported. The 4-year-old child was transported to the university hospital in Cologne by air ambulance. The other occupants were taken to hospital by ambulance. The fire service said there were five injuries in total, but that figure may include the child who died.

The police did not release information about the identities of the dead and injured. "The road was completely closed for several hours while the rescue work was carried out, and the police were investigating the accident," the fire service said Friday evening.

The cause of the accident was not disclosed by Saturday morning.