A train has been derailed near Goppenstein in the canton of Valais in Switzerland following an avalanche.
The incident occurred around 7am local time, with an evacuation of the train, which had approximately 80 passengers on board, now underway.
Police issued an update at 9.05am confirming 30 passengers had been evacuated from the train so far.
"Train derailment, presumably with injured persons, operation underway, further information to follow," a Valais cantonal police spokesman confirmed.
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Swiss police confirmed several people had been injured during the incident.
Officers added that they will release further information regarding the cause of the accident or the type of train involved at a later time.
The train had departed Spiez, almost 30 miles from Goppenstein, at around 6.12am.
A spokesman for train operator BLS said: "The train derailed due to an avalanche that came down in the Stockgraben area.
A train has been derailed near Goppenstein in the canton of Valais on Monday morning due to an avalanche, injuring several people, police have said (stock)
|GETTY
"There are 80 people on board. It is currently unclear whether the train was directly hit by the avalanche."
Heavy snowfall in the region is believed to be the cause of the avalanche.
Restrictions on local railway have been put in place.
The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) announced that train service on the Frutigen–Brig line is suspended between Goppenstein and Brig due to the avalanche.
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The train (not pictured) is believed to be carrying around 80 passengers, and injuries are currently unknown
|GETTY
This disruption is expected until at least 4am on Tuesday morning.
Today's incident comes just days after another major avalanche was recorded in the Goppenstein area on February 12.
The incident temporarily cuts off the Lotschental valley from the outside world and resulted in the closure of a car shuttle train for several hours.
The Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) described it at the time as an "extreme event."
Police confirmed: "No vehicle was hit, no injuries."
The original plan was to trigger the avalanche with explosives, but the snow masses started to move on their own before this could happen.
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