French high-speed TGV train crashes near Denguin

Dozens of people have been injured in a train collision in southern France, according to media reports.

A high-speed TGV train on the Pau-Bayonne line was transporting 178 people when it crashed into a regional TER train carrying 70 passengers.

Initial reports indicate the TGV train was stopped on the tracks and restarting when the crash occurred near the town of Denguin.

At least 25 people were reported injured, nine of them seriously.

The BBC's Christian Fraser reports the TGV train had stopped briefly on its route and was moving again, though seemingly not at full speed, which may have prevented a much more serious accident.

Police and firefighters arrived at the scene quickly to help the injured passengers from the train.

The collision follows a recent damning report into the rail crash south of Paris last year, in which seven people died.

That report highlighted the poor state of France's rail network, with the blame placed on poor maintenance checks.