M5 pile-up sparks inferno, several dead

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M5 pile-up sparks inferno, several dead

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Eyewitnesses said they heard explosions as the vehicles went up in flames and saw debris.

05 November,2011 02:07 pm

A 27-vehicle pile-up on the M5 motorway sparked explosions and an inferno, leaving several people dead and around 35 injured, police and eyewitnesses said Saturday.Television pictures showed a line of cars and lorries engulfed in flames following the massive crash at around 2030 GMT Friday on the M5 motorway near Taunton.Blazing lorries fell over onto their side and people desperately tried to prise open the doors of cars to help trapped motorists escape in chaotic scenes after the crash, which happened in foggy and wet conditions. Eyewitnesses said they heard explosions as the vehicles went up in flames and saw debris and casualties strewn across the road.Around 50 firefighters battled to free people who were trapped in the wreckage of their vehicles on the northbound carriageway, and police said a long stretch of the major route was closed and would not reopen for 24 hours.Assistant Chief Constable Anthony Bangham, of Avon and Somerset Police, said several people lost their lives in the crash but did not give a precise figure. The officers and the other emergency services faced a very, very difficult scene when they arrived, he said.Many vehicles were on fire and the collision itself involved what we believe to be about 27 vehicles, both lorries and cars. So they were faced with virtually all of them on fire. Many of them have burnt literally to the ground.Around 35 people were believed to have been injured, he said.