At least four people were killed when two trains collided on Indonesia’s main island of Java, officials said.

Several carriages buckled and overturned in the crash about 500 metres (1,640ft) from Cicalengka train station in the West Java city of Bandung, according to Ayep Hanapi, a spokesperson for PT Kereta Api Indonesia, the national railway.

He said the Turangga express train carrying 287 passengers was travelling from Surabaya, the capital of East Java province, to Bandung, when it hit a commuter train with 191 passengers heading to Padalarang from Cicalengka station.

“All passengers of the two crashed trains have been evacuated safely,” Mr Hanapi said, adding that 37 people were injured and treated in hospital.

By Friday afternoon, only two passengers were still in hospital, he said.

At least four train crew members were killed – the driver and his assistant on the commuter train and a steward and a security guard on the express train – according to West Java Police spokesperson Ibrahim Tompo.

Indonesia Train Crash
Wreckage of trains after the collision (Abdan Syakura/AP)

Television footage showed several carriages overturned or badly mangled. One carriage plunged into a nearby rice field.

People screamed as panicked passengers tried to get out of the train. Some walked through the fields carrying suitcases and other items, as ambulances evacuated those who were injured.

Transportation ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati apologised over the accident and for the disruption of railway services across Java island.

She said the cause of the accident is being investigated and that rescuers had evacuated all passengers and were working to remove the trains to restore service.

Local media reports said a preliminary investigation found that the commuter train was given the go-ahead to proceed when the express train was almost at Cicalengka station.

Usually, the commuter train stops at Haurpugur Station to give way to the express train before proceeding.