At least 39 people have been killed and more than 135 injured after a train derailed in Serbia-Montenegro. The accident happened at 4 p.m. local time on Monday, 10 kilometres north of the capital Podgorica. Its thought that the train's brakes failed and it plunged 100 metres into a ravine filled with rocks and stones.

Seventy-five children are thought to be among the injured. They were heading home from a skiing holiday in the north of the country. The accident is one of the worst in the history of the small Balkan republic.

An emergency meeting of the government has been called. The country's Interior Minister has promised an in-depth inquiry into the accident.
Medical services have issued an appeal for blood donors to come forward.

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Montenegran rescuers search for injured passengers around the derailed train near Podgorica. (AFP)