A long-distance train from Indonesia’s second-largest city, Surabaya, has collided with a commuter train near Bandung.

Emergency crews were working on Friday to free at least two other people still trapped in the mangled wreckage of the railway cars.

The accident happened when a long-distance train from the country’s second-largest city, Surabaya, collided with a commuter train near Bandung, the provincial capital, said Adita Irawati, spokeswoman for the transport ministry.

Video images from local broadcasters MetroTV and Kompas TV showed passengers being helped out of train carriages, some of which had gone off the rails entirely following the collision at 6:03am local time (23:03 GMT).

Rescuers were assessing how to free the two people found lodged between the carriages, though it was not known if they were still alive.

The three people who died were train staff – the driver and his assistant on the commuter train and a steward on the express train – said Ibrahim Tompo, a regional spokesperson of West Java police.

A total of 478 passengers were on board the trains when the crash occurred.

The cause of the accident is not immediately clear, but train operator PT KAI and the provincial government have said they will investigate, along with transport safety officials.