Seven Dead After ‘Super Fog’ Causes Huge Pile-Up In New Orleans

A dense “super fog” triggered a massive 158-car pile-up near New Orleans, killing at least seven people.

On Monday, thick fog and smoke from various marsh fires combined impair commuter visibility.

According to authorities, twenty-five persons were injured in the incident on Interstate 55 in St John the Baptist Parish, and the death toll could grow.

Some vehicles caught fire and were abandoned, leaving a path of charred debris and mangled metal in their wake.

The fire started because one of the vehicles involved in the incident was a tanker truck transporting a “hazardous liquid,” according to authorities.

Seven Dead After ‘Super Fog’ Causes Huge Pile-Up In New Orleans

According to WWL-TV, one automobile was driven off the road and into the water, but the driver was safely retrieved.

According to officers, the highway will be closed until at least midday Tuesday.

“Shortly after the initial incident, a portion of the crash scene caught fire.” “Due to a compromised tank/trailer, one tanker truck carrying a hazardous liquid is being off-loaded,” Lt Melissa Matey stated.

According to Mike Tregre, sheriff of St John the Baptist, an estimated 100 persons were stuck and were being transported to their destinations via school buses.

Clarence Patterson Reed, 46, told local media that she could avoid hitting the automobile in front of her, but the vehicles behind her began banging into her car.

“There was a ‘Boom. Boom.’ For at least 30 minutes, all you could hear was crashing,” she explained.

She could exit the vehicle, but her wife was injured inside.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in New Orleans called the weather phenomenon “super fog” and warned that similar hazardous weather conditions could appear later this week.

According to its website, superfog can arise when smoke and moisture from damp, burning plants mingle with cooler air. The haze reduced vision to less than 10ft (3m).

On Tuesday morning, the NWS reported that severe nighttime winds had helped dissipate fog in several regions but advised that dangerous driving conditions remained in many areas.

Governor John Bel Edwards expressed his condolences and prayers for the incident’s victims and invited citizens to give blood at a nearby medical facility to “help replenish supplies that are being drained today to care for the wounded.”

Louisiana has been battling raging wildfires, heatwaves, and unrelenting droughts throughout the summer. According to the US Drought Monitor, exceptional drought is currently in effect in 62% of the southern state.

SOURCE – (BBC)