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A pileup involving 100 vehicles has killed at least five people, injured dozens more and brought traffic on a slippery Texas interstate to a halt, officials said Thursday.
Fort Worth Fire Department spokesman Mike Drivdahl said authorities were going to each vehicle to assess medical needs after the "mass casualty incident" involving tractor-trailers and other vehicles on Interstate 35. The freeway will be closed all day "to remove vehicles one by one," he said.
Thirty-six people have been taken to hospitals with varying degrees of injuries, according to the spokesman. Authorities had to use the Jaws of Life to pry open vehicles and free those trapped inside them.
A video posted to social media shows a tractor-trailer sliding at a high speed into traffic. The crash led to others and sent some vehicles into the air.
The pileup occurred as freezing rain and sleet overnight caused dangerous driving conditions during the height of the morning commute. Fort Worth is under a winter weather advisory through midday local time, according to the National Weather Service.
"We have still a very active scene," Fort Worth police Officer Daniel Segura said to NBC News.