Multiple fatalities were reported in a pile-up involving 50 vehicles including trailer tractors in Missouri.
The crash on I-57 on Thursday morning was caused by someone hitting the brakes in foggy conditions and creating a chain reaction, Mississippi County EMS Director Zach Bolden told KFVS.
Videos from the scene showed trucks on fire and dark smoke billowing in the air for miles.
‘This is a major incident with multiple crashes involving several tractor trailers and fatalities,’ the Missouri Department of Public Safety wrote on Facebook.
‘Both directions are closed and there is a large-scale cleanup underway as well as continuing major-crash fatality scene investigation by Missouri State Highway Patrol.’
At least one fatality was confirmed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Meanwhile, Bolden confirmed multiple deaths and said one person was airlifted and another helicopter was on standby at the scene.
Several tractor-trailers were involved, Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman John Hotz said.
The pile-up occurred from the 10 to 12 mile marker in the northbound and southbound lanes.
Authorities asked the public to avoid Charleston and rerouted traffic in the area including the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. Drivers were asked to take alternate routes in Missouri and Illinois.
The public safety department had ‘no estimated time for reopening I-57’.
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