Thick fog causes pile-ups and crashes in northern Italy, killing 3 and injuring dozens

A thick fog on the road has caused a string of car crashes on Monday in northern Italy, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, according to officials.

More than 150 vehicles were bottled up on the road following the crashes, which caused the temporary closure of more than 70 kilometres of the A-22 highway in Emilia-Romagna, between Reggiolo and Carpi.

Among the three victims was a truck driver whose vehicle crashed into cars and caused a pile-up in the Emilia-Romagna region. Some 25 people were injured, two of them seriously, and a person was taken to the hospital in an air ambulance.

The two other victims – husband and wife – died on the A21 motorway in the Lombardy region, near the city of Brescia, which also reported low visibility and a thick fog. More than 50 people were injured on the motorway, east of Milan.

Another accident, again caused by fog, occurred on the A1 between Reggio Emilia and Modena, at km 153.

The accident caused gridlock. Twelve police patrols intervened, from 10 to 15 ambulances went to the spot and firefighters went to rescue injured people.

The road remained closed at the time of writing, according to local reports.