The bodies of five children have been found by police in an apartment building in Solingen, Germany.

The horrific discovery was made at a private apartment in Hasselstrasse Street, in the western German town, around 2pm on Thursday, September 3.

Pictures from the scene show emergency vehicles parked up as police sealed off the area.

According to German tabloid, Bild, the children’s grandmother had called police to tell them her daughter, aged 27, had killed five of her children and was out of her home with another child.

The police then found the dead children, aged 1, 2, 3, 6 and 8.

The mum reportedly jumped in front of a train in the early afternoon and survived with serious injuries, Bild reported.

She is now under police protection.

Reports added an 11-year-old son was found unharmed at the grandmother’s home.

Officers were called to the private apartment at around 2pm, Tag 24 reports.

How the 5 children died is currently unknown.