Three dead and many injured as train derails near Milan, Italy

A commuter has derailed near the Italian city Milan, killing at least three people and injuring about 100, officials say.

The Trenord commuter service had been travelling from Cremona, in the Lombardy region, towards Milan's Garibaldi station.

The train was carrying hundreds of people, many of them heading to work, when it derailed at Pioltello Limito station on the outskirts of Milan at about 7am, emergency services said.

Firefighters and emergency services are at the scene

Two centre carriages came off the rails, coming to rest at an angle. Firefighters are trying to free several people trapped in the carriages of the train.

Two helicopters have been deployed to the rescue operation, newspaper Corriere Della Sera reports. Some of the injured are receiving first aid in a nearby field.

Cristina Corbetta, an official with the regional emergency services in Milan, told Sky TG24 that about 100 people had suffered minor injuries and 10 had been seriously hurt.

Five or six people are still trapped inside the train, according to the TV station.

Hundreds of people were on the train when it derailed

A problem with the coupling between carriages is being investigated as a possible cause of the accident.

A witness told Repubblica newspaper that the train "began to tremble" before the accident.

Milan police chief Marcello Cardona told ANSA: "We have identified a failure between wagons, but all the investigations are still under way to clarify the picture."