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KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany — Two American soldiers were killed in a horrific car crash late Wednesday on the road between Landstuhl and Bann, while a female passenger, who had to be extricated from the wreck, sustained serious injuries, Kaiserslautern police said.

The soldiers were assigned to the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command at Rhine Ordnance Barracks in Kaiserslautern, a spokesman for the unit said Thursday. The men were not identified because officials were waiting to confirm notification of next of kin.

The crash is believed to have occurred sometime before midnight, police said. The car, a BMW M3, was traveling toward Bann on the L363 when it came off the left side of the road and traveled about 16 to 32 feet down an embankment into the forest below, Kaiserslautern police said in a statement. The car smashed into several trees and appears to have flipped over several times.

A passer-by called police about midnight to report the wreck, according to a German news report.

The two soldiers, ages 30 and 29, were found dead at the scene. One of the men was thrown from the car. A Latvian woman who was found trappedin the vehiclehad to be cut out by rescuers. She was hospitalized with serious injuries.

Police could not immediately determine who the driver was.

The cause of the crash is under investigation. Christiane Lautenschlaeger, a Kaiserslautern police spokeswoman, said law enforcement officials are looking for possible witnesses to the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call the police department at (+49) (0) 631-3690.

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