London: A "horrific" pile up of vehicles on an
arterial motorway claimed at least seven lives and injured
over 50 in one of Britain's worst road accidents that saw
speeding cars and Lorries crashing into each other, sparking
huge balls of fire.
UK police confirmed that at least seven people were feared
dead in last night's mishap that involved 34 vehicles.
The death toll is expected to rise further.
As many as 51 people were injured, with injuries being
described as 'life-changing'.
Britain has not witnessed a road mishap of this scale
since 1991, officials said, who described lorries and cars
crashing into each other at high speed amidst poor weather
conditions on the M5 motorway near Taunton in Somerset as
"horrific".
The motorway that links north England with the south-west
remained closed today.
Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, of the Avon and
Somerset Police, said: "The incident was very, very
challenging and on arrival crews were faced with literally one
massive fireball".
"Most vehicles were well alight and most continued to burn
for a considerable time. This made it very difficult to search
the vehicles. Some of them have been burned to the ground".
Paul Slaven, of Devon and Somerset Fire Service, said it
was "the worst road traffic collision anyone can remember".
The motorway has been closed in both directions while
rescue and restoration operations are completed.
The incident happened near Taunton in Somerset, south-west
England around 2 am.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, November 05, 2011, 13:57