PHOTOS, VIDEOS: Mass accident close to Budapest, motorway to Vienna closed, 42 cars concerned – UPDATED
Five lorries and 37 cars crashed on the M1 motorway near Herceghalom, in Pest County, the Budapest Police Headquarters said on their website. The article has been updated, please, scroll down for the latest information.
The pile-up took place on Saturday around 2.25 PM at the 26km section of the M1 on the lanes leading out of the capital.
Fully 19 vehicles caught fire and 36 people were injured, six with life-threatening injuries, and 13 seriously. Telex wrote that 10 adults and four children have suffered serious injuries. Light injuries concern 19 adults and six children. Firefighters from several localities joined Budapest forces and disaster management personnel at the scene, along with four rescue helicopters.
According to the operator of the motorway, the reason for the accident was a local dust blow resulting in a temporary but considerable decrease in visibility.
Here is a video about the visibility conditions when the accident happened:
They will reopen the motorway only after they remove all the vehicles that burned out.
UPDATE (03.12. 10.00 am) – M1 motorway to Vienna reopened, one dead found
According to telex.hu, the authorities finished work by Sunday early morning on the M1 motorway. Therefore, the highway is open for traffic again, so the road to Vienna from Budapest is clear again.
However, they found a person under one of the vehicles who probably burned to death, blikk.hu wrote. He is the only confirmed victim of the mass accident.
Here are some photos:
Below, you may find three videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFL-K_37Iwo
Source: MTI, Telex, Blikk