Eleven hurt after train carriage plunges down ravine in Swiss Alps

At least two train cars have derailed in the Swiss Alps after a landslide on the tracks.

Three train cars have derailed and 11 people are injured after a Swiss mountain train ran into a landslide in the Alps.

One carriage slid off the tracks onto a steep slope and was halted by trees.

The accident happened in a deep wooded valley between Tiefencastel and Solis, south-east of Zurich in the canton, or state, of Graubuenden.

Some 200 people were on board at the time of the accident, which followed heavy rain in the region.

Five people were seriously injured and another six sustained slight injuries, a police spokeswoman said.

Helicopters with an air rescue service helped the recovery efforts, since the site was not close to a road. By mid-afternoon, the train cars had been cleared.

The train is operated by Rhaetische Bahn, which runs narrow-gauge routes in Switzerland’s mountainous south-eastern corner that are popular with tourists.

The line where the accident happened connects Chur, Graubuenden’s administrative capital, with the ski resort of St Moritz.