A child was killed and another was seriously injured on Thursday after they were hit and dragged by a train along a railway line in the western German town of Recklinghausen, Bild newspaper reported, citing local officials.
Police confirmed several young people had been involved in a train accident but declined to give further details.
Bild said the victims were dragged by a freight train for several hundred meters (yards). The accident happened between two stations, it added.
It was not clear how the accident happened and whether more children were involved but local media reports said some 35 firemen and rescue workers had been deployed to the accident site, near a former freight yard. Rescue teams were searching the track bed and using drones to look for victims, they added.
Recklinghausen police declined to say how many people were injured or if any had died.