Five children were found dead in an apartment in western Germany on Thursday, police said, with local media reporting they were murdered by their mother who later tried to kill herself as well.

The children’s grandmother called the police and reported that her daughter, 27, had killed five of her children and was possibly on the run with another child with the intention of killing herself.

They were found in a private apartment in the city of Solingen in North Rhine-Westphalia state, police told AFP without giving further details. They were one, two, three, six and eight years old, according to a report in the Bild daily.

The mother later threw herself in front of a train but survived with serious injuries, the report said. She has been taken under police protection.

The woman’s 11-year-old son was later found unharmed, it said. The mother later travelled to the main station in Duesseldorf, some 35 kilometres away, where she jumped in front of a train, according to Bild.

She was rescued from between two track beds and taken to a local hospital for treatment, national news agency DPA reported, citing emergency services.

Investigations are ongoing, police said. (Text, excluding headline, courtesy AFP)