Police said several people have died after a truck struck two cars on a German highway, pushing the smaller vehicles under another tractor-trailer.

Mannheim police said the incident happened Monday afternoon on the A5 Autobahn near the town of Walldorf in southwest Germany.

A police statement said the number of people killed hasn't been determined, but that a woman was extracted from the wreckage with serious injuries.

A rescue helicopter and dozens of first responders were at the scene.

A seven-car pileup in the opposite lane injured three people. Police described it as a "rubbernecking accident."