At least 10 people were killed and 70 others injured on Friday when a Metrolink commuter train slammed into a freight train near a Los Angeles suburb, authorities said.

Flames rise from a train wreck between a freight train and a MetroLink commuter train near Chatsworth, California Sept. 12, 2008. At least 10 people were killed and 70 others injured on Friday when a Metrolink commuter train slammed into a freight train near a Los Angeles suburb, authorities said. [China Daily]

The death toll was continuing to rise, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told reporters at the scene.

"The latest figure that we have is that there's somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 to 15 fatalities," Villaraigosa said. "This is probably the most serious train wreck to occur here in a very long time."

Previous reports said at least six people were killed in the collision.

The Metrolink train carrying about 400 passengers crashed with the freight train in the Chatsworth area, some 50 kilometers northeast of downtown Los Angels, around 4:00 p.m. local time, setting off a massive rescue effort and search for other possible fatalities.

A passenger train collide head-on with a freight train near a Los Angeles suburb Sept. 12, 2008, killing at least 10 people and injuring 70. [chinanews.cn]

At least seven cars from the freight train derailed, although most remained standing in accordion fashion across the tracks.

Fire crews swarmed to the scene and into the overturned Metrolink train, pulling injured passengers from the wreckage and escorting them to makeshift triage centers.