(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-27 19:18

BERLIN -- A total of 25 people were injured when a high-speed German Inter-City Express (ICE) train carrying 170 passengers derailed late Saturday in central Germany, German media reported Sunday.

The accident happened when an ICE train collided with a flock of sheep inside a rail tunnel near Fulda, according to German news agency DPA.

The train came off the track south of Fulda, about 80 km northeast of Frankfurt, after hitting and killing 20 sheep, German television N-TV quoted police spokesman Klaus Arend as saying.

The 170 passengers on board were evacuated to a nearby community center.

The ICE train left Saturday evening from Hamburg and was southbound for Munich on Germany's major north-south rail link.