A British backpacker who escaped uninjured from a train which derailed and ploughed into a house in Germany killing at least nine people has been describing a "scene from hell".

More than 100 people were injured after the overnight train from Amsterdam to Basel in Switzerland crashed early on Sunday morning just south of Cologne, while travelling at three times the speed limit.

The train was packed with holiday skiers when it left the railtrack. Its engine hurtled down an embankment with along with several of the front cars and hit a house.

'Toy train set'

"Suddenly there was a screeching sound like fingernails down a blackboard, and a big thump," student Brian Davies said on Monday.

"I was thrown on top of people opposite and the carriage lurched violently from side to side. We stayed upright. I peered out of a window and it was like a scene from hell."

Mr Davies, 21, from Manchester, told The Sun newspaper that carriages were strewn all over the place "like a toy train set".

He said he was asleep in the back of the train when the smash occurred.

'Speeding'

British authorities in Dusseldorf are checking whether any other Britons were on board the train.

Crash investigators say there could be more bodies buried under the wrecked coaches, which are still being cleared by rescue workers using heavy equipment.

The nationalities of the nine dead have not yet been determined because of the severity of the injuries.

Police said the train was travelling at well beyond the speed limit at the time of the accident, reaching 120km/h (75mph) on the approach to the station, where the limit was 40km/h (25mph).

A further 22 people believed to be on the train were still missing and these were listed as 16 Germans, four Americans and two Dutch citizens.