Eleven people in total were injured when a barge crashed into a passenger ferry on the Elbe River in Hamburg, a fire department spokesman told the German Press Agency (DPA) on Monday morning.
According to the fire department, one man suffered a life-threatening traumatic brain injury.
All of the injured were taken to hospital although most of them suffered minor injuries.
In total around 25 people were affected by the accident. It was initially unclear how many of them were passengers or employees on the ferry.
In Hamburg, several ferries regularly cross the Elbe, and make up a crucial part of the city's public transport. Some residents use these ferries for their daily commute.
The accident occurred shortly before 6:45am on Monday near the ferry pier in Hamburg-Altona.
According to an initial investigation, a pusher boat and its barge collided with the passenger ferry coming from Finkenwerder, which is west of the city centre, during foggy weather.
The collision tore open one side of the "Övelgönne" ferry, as well as shattering some windows. But the fire department spokesperson told DPA that the tear was above the waterline, so the ferry was not in danger of sinking. The ferry is currently moored at a dock.
No oil or fuels are reported to have leaked.
Around 55 firefighters responded to the emergency call in the morning. They also handed out warming blankets to some of the passengers that had been splashed in the accident.
"All the windows were broken, and a wave came in. I'm soaking wet and frozen through. I am very shocked," a woman who was on the ferry with her bicycle to go to Hamburg for work told DPA.
The maritime police (Wasserschutzpolizei) are investigating the incident, a police spokesman told DPA. The case will also be examined by Germany's Maritime Accident Investigation Group.
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With reporting by DPA.
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