The death toll of a deadly car-train crash near Iasi, northeastern Romania, on Sunday has risen to 11 after the two people seriously injured in the accident died at the hospital.

The accident took place on Sunday afternoon at the crossing over a railway line on the outskirts of Iasi, where a van carrying 11 people was hit by a passing train and dragged along for several hundred meters, according to witnesses.

Nine of the passengers on the van were dead on scene, whereas a 13-year-old boy and a man of 35 years were taken to hospital.

They died at the hospital on Sunday evening due to injuries sustained, said Silvia Bolohan, spokesman for local Emergency Situations Inspectorate (ISU).

Preliminary investigations revealed that the driver of the van forced the crossing of the railway line despite the approaching train.