Gusting winds in the Midwestern United States have kicked up a fatal dust storm, reducing visibility to zero and triggering a major vehicle pileup that killed at least six people on an Illinois highway.
More than 30 additional motorists, from ages 2 to 80, were wounded in the crash as a result of Monday’s storm, according to Illinois state police. Their injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening.
State police reported that up to 60 cars and nearly 30 commercial vehicles slammed into one another as strong winds whipped across the flat farmland near the town of Farmersville, about 40km (24 miles) south of the state capital of Springfield.
Two semitrucks caught fire, adding to the haze that clouded the I-55 highway, shutting down traffic in both the north and south directions. All the crashes occurred within a 3-km (2-mile) stretch of road, from milepost 76 to milepost 78.
The US National Weather Service bureau in Lincoln, Illinois, issued a warning for continued “strong west to northwest winds” through Tuesday, leading to precarious driving conditions. “Use extra caution when driving, secure loose objects, and avoid burning if possible,” it warned on Twitter.
Source: Aljazeera