Train kills two on Lapland safari

The railway crossing where two Italians were killed

A passenger train killed two Italian teenagers when it struck their dog sleigh in Lapland, northern Finland.

The two, a 14-year-old girl and an 17-year-old boy, were among 18 Italian tourists, on a dog sleigh safari in Korpikyla, near the Arctic Circle.

Their sleigh was hit at a level crossing on Monday evening. There were no casualties among the other tourists.

Lapland - the fabled home of Santa Claus - is a popular tourist destination in winter.

The young Italians' parents were also in the group and were taken to nearby Haparanda in Sweden after the incident.

They were in the ninth and last sledge of the caravan but it is not yet clear how the accident happened and the teenagers have not yet been named.

Local media reports that it was getting dark at the time of the accident but it was not snowing.

A police investigation has been opened. The train operator, whose train hit the sledge, has promised to help with the inquiry.