At least six people, including two children, were killed in a pile-up on a Montana freeway caused by a dust storm on Friday, according to authorities.
The accident, in which 21 vehicles were involved, occurred on Interstate 90 outside of Hardin, Montana, a city of 3,800 people about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Billings near Hardin, according to the Sgt. Montana Highway Patrol Jay M. Nelson.
Eight other people were injured and were treated in hospitals.
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“Everything indicates that this is an isolated extreme weather event,” Nelson said, calling the accident one of the worst he had seen in 24 years in the state.
“What could people do?
It really was sheer panic,”
he said, adding that investigators have found no other contributing factor to the chain collision.
The identities of the dead and the conditions of the survivors have not yet been made public.
It took
more than six hours to fully reopen the road.
All eastbound traffic was diverted, and westbound traffic was reduced to one lane, according to the Montana Department of Transportation, which first reported the crash near milepost 493 at 4:55 p.m. .
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“I am deeply saddened by the news of a massive fatal accident near Hardin,” Governor Greg Gianforte tweeted.
“Please join me in praying to uplift the victims and their loved ones.
We are grateful to our first responders for their service,” he added.
Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement that the Montana Highway Patrol, which he oversees, was investigating what happened.
"We will release more information as it becomes available and appropriate out of respect for the lives lost and their loved ones," he said.
There were thunderstorms over Billings, a city about 40 miles (64 kilometers) west of Hardin, and an "outflow" that sent strong winds toward Hardin, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Chambers said.
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"The winds outpaced the storm," Chambers said.
Winds kicked up dust and a gust to 64 miles per hour (102 kilometers per hour) was recorded near Hardin.
Visibility measured about a quarter of a mile.
The National Weather Service had issued severe storm watches and warnings for south central and southeastern Montana on Friday.
With information from AP and
NBC News
.