LONDON — At least six passengers on board a train on the Great Belt route in Denmark were killed this morning when high winds blew cases of beer from a passing freight train into their passenger cars. The beer was being transported in curtain-sided trailers on flat cars. It is believed that the winds ripped open the trailers.

The engineer of the passenger train, which was a modern 100-mph DMU, braked quickly to try to minimize the danger. There were 131 passengers and crew on board the train. Early reports suggested only minor injuries, but Danish police had confirmed six deaths by mid-morning. The accident and storm-force winds forced closure of the route.

The Great Belt route comprises two long bridges, totaling 8.4 miles, connected by a 5-mile rail tunnel crossing the part of the Baltic Sea. The bridges connect the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen across the Great Belt strait. It opened in 1998, replacing train ferry routes that previously connected the islands. The rail line forms part of the main route between the Danish capital Copenhagen and western Denmark. It also forms part of a freight route connecting Germany with Denmark and Sweden.