At least six people have been killed and 30 others injured after an express train carrying nearly 200 people derailed near the city of Messina in Sicily.

Some of the train's seven carriages reportedly fell into a ditch several metres deep after the train derailed and hit a bridge.

One of the carriages is said to have been completely crushed.

The incident occurred at about 1900 local time (1700 GMT), near the Rometta Marea station, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from Messina.

People are still trapped in the wreckage of the train, although police say they are not sure how many.

An employee of the train company is believed to be one of the dead whose boday has been retrieved from the site.

The injured were taken to Messina for treatment

Many of the 190 people on board are thought to have been tourists on their way to mainland Italy.

The train, an overnight express travelling from the Sicilian capital of Palermo to Venice, was due to arrive at its destination at around 0800 GMT on Sunday.

The rescue mission has been hampered by the fact that the incident occurred some way from the island's main roads, hindering the efforts of emergency workers to reach the scene.

Injured passengers are being taken to Messina for treatment, but the Italian news agency Ansa reports that one child passenger is so badly injured that she cannot be moved.

Local residents are also helping with the search, while the Repubblica newspaper website says 100 army officers are on their way to the site armed with flashlights and rescue equipment.

The search effort is expected to last well into the night.

Inquiries underway

It is not yet known what caused the train to come off the rails, but two official inquiries have already been launched.

Media reports say the incident recalls a fatal rail accident on the same Palermo to Messina line in 1979, when two trains collided at a spot just kilometres away from the scene of Saturday's incident, leaving 12 people dead.

Correspondents say some Italian MPs, on hearing of the incident, were quick to point fingers at a lack of investment in transport on the island, one of the poorest areas of Italy.