Updated at 2.30pm

Four children were killed and two people were wounded when a train struck a "cargo" bicycle, widely used by Dutch parents to transport their children, police said on Thursday.

The accident occurred in the eastern city of Oss, near the German border.

Police said the cargo bike was electrically powered and had been transporting the children from a pre-school centre to school when the accident occurred. There were numerous witnesses, including other school-age children, police said.

The two injured people have been taken to a nearby hospital, where they are in critical condition.

"We have informed the families involved of this terrible news," police said in a statement. "We are investigating how this could have happened."

The cargo bicycle is a common sight on Holland's roads. File photo.The cargo bicycle is a common sight on Holland's roads. File photo.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.