CNN
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One person died during a pile-up involving more than 200 vehicles in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Wednesday.
According to the state-owned The Global Times, the pile-up occurred on a bridge that was shrouded in thick morning fog, causing several vehicles to crash.
Pictures from the scene show a long multi-lane bridge that spans fields and the Yellow River, filled with vehicles colliding with each other. Cars, goods trucks, lorries and other vehicles could be seen in the heap.
In video filmed from the ground, the air was still thick with fog. One clip showed a truck sliding forward, colliding with several small cars as sirens sounded in the distance.
According to The Global Times, many drivers and passengers were trapped in their cars. Emergency response workers and fire fighters, including personnel from the traffic and health departments, were deployed to the scene.
An eyewitness told The Global Times that the pile-up had grown several kilometers long, and that the moisture on the bridge had made the road especially slippery.
Visibility was only 200 meters (about 656 feet) in some areas that morning, according to Reuters, citing the local meteorological agency. Several hours after the pile-up, police issued a warning for cars not to cross the bridge due to fog.
“The temperature in winter is low and there is often thick fog,” the traffic police posted on its official account on Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter. It reminded drivers to slow down, use their lights, and leave dangerous areas as quickly as possible.
The overpass connects Zhengzhou to the city of Xinjiang. Police closed the bridge during the rescue operation, following which traffic resumed later in the afternoon.