A crash involving 47 vehicles on the Missouri Interstate on Thursday left five dead, according to the report of the authorities.
Although the Mississippi County coroner, Terry Parker, had confirmed a sixth death on Thursday night, according to KFVS, the Mississippi Highway Patrol The State of Missouri clarified this Friday on the local Fox 2 station that there were a total of five deaths after the accident.
Parker told CNN that the authorities have not yet revealed the names of the victims, but confirmed that the recovery stage is over.
The Mississippi County Emergency Medical Services, through its director, Zach Bolden, noted that several people were treated at the scene while others, including two first responders, were taken to local medical centers. Another person was sent by plane, KFVS noted.
Authorities have speculated that someone may have slammed on the brakes on the road, causing the fatal accident, and indicated that there were foggy conditions when they arrived at the scene. of the incident, specified the aforementioned medium.
“Visibility was reported to be only 50 feet due to heavy fog in the area this morning,” the Missouri Department of Public Safety said on its Twitter account.
The department noted that the highway was closed in both directions after the incident, which affected the northbound and southbound lanes of the Interstate 57.
“This is a major crash scene with multiple collisions and fires involving multiple tractor trailers and fatalities. Both directions of I-57 are closed. A major cleanup is underway and a major accident scene investigation by @MSHPTrooperGHQ continues. There is no estimate for the opening of I-57”, the department said on Twitter.