Eight people died in a pile-up of 22 vehicles caused by a sandstorm on a highway in Utah, authorities in the western United States said on Monday.
"A sandstorm in Millard County resulted in eight deaths, including those of children, and several motorists were injured in a series of crashes on Sunday afternoon," the security department said in a statement. Utah Public.
The photo was taken by the Utah Highway Patrol on July 25, 2021. AFP / Handout / Utah Highway Patrol
"Several people were taken to hospitals in the region, including at least three in critical condition," the statement said.
“It appears 22 vehicles were involved in Sunday's crashes after high winds caused a sand or dust storm reducing visibility on the road.
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Extreme drought
"Nobody could see, so people started to stop and there was a chain reaction," Andrew Battenfield, spokesman for the highway patrol, said Sunday evening, as quoted by the New York Times.
Five of the eight people killed in the accident were traveling in a single vehicle, detailed in the American daily road patrol.
Two of the other deceased were in another vehicle and the eighth victim was in a third vehicle.
The accident occurred in an area experiencing one of the worst droughts in the country, which heightens the risk of sandstorms, CNN notes. According to the U.S. Drought Observatory, the entire state of Utah has been in the two most extreme drought categories since last week.