The crash involved tractor-trailers and passenger cars.
Six people were killed in a multi-vehicle crash that involved a 135-car pile-up in Missouri on Thursday morning along Interstate 57, fire officials said, according to published news reports.
"Dozens of fire, EMS, and law enforcement agencies responded to this mass casualty motor vehicle collision from Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky that involved over 135 vehicles," the Scott City Fire Department said in a statement on Facebook.
Firefighters were there trying to extinguish the flames for up to six hours, the department said.
Towing operators from Missouri, Illinois, and Kentucky were also at the scene assisting with vehicle recoveries, the department said.
The Mississippi Coroner Terry Parker said that a mobile morgue was set up and that they were still "in the process of identifying the deceased and notifying the families of those who were killed,” People reported.
“Only in one of, one of the worse war movies, or in Chicago or St. Louis fire, something we’d maybe see on the news in a large city, but nothing of this nature in our area,” Parker said of the scene, KFVS News reported.
“When we got the call about 8 a.m., and as we approached the interstate, it was a very thick fog,” Charleston Department of Public Safety Director Robert Hearnes told KFVS news. “You couldn’t see, visibility was less than 50 feet. And so the traffic had already backed up, but we had multiple, multiple accidents on both sides of the interstate.”
Zach Bolden, director of the Mississippi County EMS, said the weather conditions were foggy when they responded.
According to Bolden, they believe someone hit the brakes and a chain reaction followed.
Many people were taken to area hospitals while some were being treated at the scene. One to two emergency personnel were also taken to the hospital.
The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) closed Interstate 57 for at least 20 hours.
“Please keep the remaining personnel and towing operators on the scene in your thoughts and prayers for their safety during this extensive cleanup operation. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and their families involved in this tragedy," the Scott City Fire Department said in a statement.
