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Accident site on Interstate 35: A pile-up with more than 130 vehicles
Photo: Amanda McCoy / AP
The rubble field is huge, dozens of cars have been squeezed into each other: After the pile-up with more than 130 vehicles on a highway in the US state of Texas, the death toll has risen to at least six.
Around 65 people were treated in hospitals, said a spokesman for the local emergency medical service MedStar on Thursday afternoon (local time).
A representative of the police said the investigation was still ongoing, but it was assumed that the accident was caused by ice formation due to freezing moisture.
The local broadcaster WFAA and other local media reported that the accident zone extends over around 2.5 kilometers.
Eyewitness pictures showed numerous cars and trucks being squashed into one another.
Some vehicles were pushed together by the force of the impact.
According to the reports, rescue workers sometimes had problems fighting their way through the rubble to the trapped people.
They were concerned that after hours in sub-zero temperatures, they would become hypothermic.
A collection center has been set up nearby for families.
The pile-up occurred in the morning rush hour around 6 a.m.
Police urged drivers to be cautious as the weather conditions continue to be dangerous.
As a result of the accident, traffic was jammed for a length of more than twelve kilometers.
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wit / dpa
