The final death toll from a train crash in southern Germany stands at 10 after police concluded their search for victims.

More than 80 people were injured by the head-on collision of two commuter trains in the southern German state of Bavaria, which would have been even more tragic if not for a school holiday.

The crash occurred at approximately 6:48am (local time) during the morning rush-hour about halfway along a 6km stretch between the spa town of Bad Aibling and Kolbermoor in Bavaria, on a rail track next to the Mangfall River, close to the Austrian border.

“It’s one of the biggest accidents we have had in the last few years,” German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt told the media.

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Up to 15 metres of the front of each train was mangled. Photo: Getty

Police spokesman Andreas Guske said on Wednesday that 10 bodies had been retrieved from the wreckage and that the search for victims was now complete, correcting an earlier statement that an 11th body had been found.

He added he was “optimistic” that none of the 81 people wounded in the crash – 18 among them seriously – would succumb to their injuries.

The force of the collision, which happened on a bend with poor visibility, was caused by “human error” according to initial investigation findings, a source told DPA on Tuesday on condition of anonymity, destroyed 10 to 15 metres of the front of each train.

Ambulances could not reach the site, which was heavily wooded with a steep hill on one side and a river on the other, so eight helicopters airlifted victims with severe injuries to nearby hospitals, while those with less severe injuries were treated at the scene.

“At the scene of the collision, one can only see debris. Rescue workers are climbing around and pulling people out,” Bavarian broadcaster BR quoted a rescue worker as saying.

The trains had been carrying about 150 passengers, mainly commuters. Police said more people would have been travelling if it had not been a school holiday week.

German transport minister Alexander Dobrindt was briefed at the scene. Photo: Getty

Two black boxes from the trains were examined for information about the accident.

A system to prevent head-on collisions was reportedly in place at the time of the accident.

Rail operator Deutsche Bahn said the accident happened on a curve in the tracks where trains are allowed to travel up to 120 kilometres per hour.

German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed shock and sent her condolences to families of the victims.

“I trust that the authorities will do everything they can to clear up how this accident could happen,” Ms Merkel said in a statement.

The Upper Bavarian Rail Service also issued a statement, describing the crash as a “shock”.

“[This] is a huge shock for us. We are doing everything to help the commuters, their relatives and staff,” chief executive Bernd Rosenbusch was quoted as saying.

Germany’s most serious post-war train accident occurred in 1998 when 101 people were killed in the crash of a high speed train near the northern town of Eschede.

-with AAP

🔴ACCIDENT TRAIN ALLEMAGNE Des médias locaux évoquent une centaine de blessés dans la collision à Bad Aibling pic.twitter.com/3kwmXRlFk4

— infos140 (@infos140) February 9, 2016