Over 200 people have been injured in a massive pile-up which lasted ten minutes and involved a hundred vehicles.
The incident happened at 7:15am on the New Sheppey Crossing bridge connecting the Isle of Sheppey with mainland Kent.
The accident occurred in thick fog with some witnesses saying that visibility was down to 20 yards in places and that motorists were ‘driving like idiots’ prior to the pile-up.
The scene on the bridge was a mass of tangled cars, lorries and even a car transporter, with reports saying that the crash went on for 10 minutes as cars continuously collided with each other.
The uninjured and walking wounded are being taken down from the bridge on the Sittingbourne side.
Witness Martin Stammers, 45, from Minster, told Kent Online: ‘It's horrific. I've never seen anything like it in my life. All you could hear was cars crashing.
‘We got out of our car and it was eerily quiet, with visibility down to just 20 yards.'
Chaos in Kent as more than 200 are injured in pile-up in morning mist which lasted 10 MINUTES and involved A HUNDRED vehicles
- Crash on new Sheppey crossing bridge on A249 in Kent at 7.15am
- Eight people seriously injured and another 200 with minor injuries
- Police say visibility was bad, but it's unclear if that caused pile-up
5 September 2013
More than 100 vehicles were involved in a major accident in misty conditions on a bridge this morning, leaving eight people seriously injured and another 200 with minor injuries.
The crash happened on the new Sheppey crossing bridge on the A249 in Kent. Police were called at around 7.15am to deal with the incident, along with the fire bridge and ambulance services.
The accident occurred in thick fog with some witnesses saying that visibility was down to 20 yards in places and that motorists were ‘driving like idiots’ prior to the pile-up.
Huge pile-up: The incident in Kent saw a huge number of injuries after a massive crash on the bridge
Massive crash: The scene on the London-bound carriageway of the Sheppey Bridge crossing near Sheerness in Kent following a multi-vehicle collision earlier this morning
Emergency: A huge crash happened on the London bound carriageway of the Sheppey Bridge Crossing
Location: The bridge is north of Kemsley, east of Gillingham, west of Faversham and north-east of Maidstone
The scene on the bridge was a mass of tangled cars, lorries and even a car transporter, with reports saying that the crash went on for 10 minutes as cars continuously collided with each other.
The uninjured and walking wounded are being taken down from the bridge on the Sittingbourne side.
Witness Martin Stammers, 45, from Minster, told Kent Online: ‘It's horrific. I've never seen anything like it in my life. All you could hear was cars crashing.
‘We got out of our car and it was eerily quiet, with visibility down to just 20 yards.'
He added to Sky News: 'I was very, very, lucky. I was the last car out of it, if you like. As I come to the top of the hill, there were about five cars already smashed up, one was across my carriageway.
Paramedics on scene: Around 200 people had minor injuries following the crash near Sheerness in Kent
Helping out: Paramedics treat people on the London-bound carriageway of the Sheppey Bridge crossing
Misty conditions: The crash occurred on the new Sheppey crossing bridge on the A249 in Kent this morning
'I had to hit my brakes hard as well, I just had enough space to get through. From then on, all you could hear was the screeching of car tyres and the thudding, which was endless.
'It must have been going on for five to 10 minutes. You could hear hear the screeching, you could hear the lorries thudding into cars, you could hear glass breaking, there was nothing we could do.
'Even after the police turned up, you still heard further down the bridge - a quarter of a mile, half a mile away - cars still going into the back of each other. It was horrendous.'
He said drivers on the opposite carriageway thanked him for waving for them to slow down, saying they would have been involved in more serious collisions had he not done so.
A Kent Police spokesman said visibility was a problem, but it was not clear if that caused the pile-up, adding: 'There have been some injuries but we cannot say at the moment how serious they are.'
Reports of injuries: A Kent Police spokesman said visibility was a problem over the bridge this morning
Major incident: Motorists were warned to avoid the area around the new Sheppey crossing bridge
Emergency assistance: There were reports of six serious injuries and 200 minor injuries, police said
Mr Stammers added: 'As you went further up, there were cars in the air, there were cars under lorries, there were people laying on the floor, it was just horrendous.
'If you were travelling at 30mph you would have still hit the car in front of you because the visibility was down to 10 yards. I just can't believe how close...
'We were five seconds from, I would say, near death. Very, very, very, lucky, I just hope everyone else there is OK.'
'I can't explain how you're standing there in the quiet and all you can hear is this thud and the glass breaking. It's just silence, that's all you can hear - a screech and a thud, a screech and a thud. Horrific, absolutely horrific.'
Fire service: Police were called at 7.15am to deal with the incident, with other emergency services
Extraordinary accident: Damaged cars on the Sheppey crossing in Kent this morning after a pile-up in fog
Crammed together: Drivers in the Kent bridge pile-up might have been caught out by the irregular nature of the fog patches this morning, according to forecasters
Motorists were warned to avoid the area. 'Kent Police was called at about 7.15am on Thursday September 5 to the London-bound carriageway on the Sheppey crossing,' a force spokesman said.
'It has been reported there were collisions at the top of the crossing and at the foot of the approach to the crossing. Emergency services are currently at the scene dealing with the incident.
'At this stage it is unknown exactly how many vehicles are involved, but early reports suggest more than 100 vehicles. There are reports of six serious injuries and 200 minor injuries.
'Officers are urging motorists to avoid the area but if a journey to the island is essential, the old Kingsferry Bridge remains open but expect long delays.
'The road remains closed at Cowstead Corner on the island and motorists are being directed on to the Kingsferry Bridge, while the road is closed at the Iwade turn-off and vehicles directed through the village on to the old A249.'
Pile-up: Some areas of Kent were relatively free of fog during the early rush-hour but there were also some dense patches in places
Response: Firefighters helped motorists out of their cars, while paramedics helped those injured
Huge pile-up: The accident occurred in thick fog with some witnesses saying that visibility was down to 20 yards in places and that motorists were 'driving like idiots' prior to the crash
South East Coast Ambulance Service said it was dealing with a major incident with 30 ambulances and cars at the scene, but a spokesman said he was not aware of any deaths.
It has deployed its hazardous area response teams (HART) to the scene and confirmed there was a wide range of injuries from seriously injured to walking wounded.
‘We have set up triage at the scene and are treating patients,’ he said.
The ambulance service said it believed there were eight patients with 'potentially' serious injuries.
Those injured will be ferried to local hospitals including Medway Maritime Hospital in Gillingham and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.
Aerial view: South East Coast Ambulance Service said it was dealing with a major incident with 30 ambulances and cars at the scene, but a spokesman said he was not aware of any deaths
Astonishing: The scene on the bridge was a mass of tangled cars, lorries and even a car transporter, with reports saying that the crash went on for 10 minutes as cars continuously collided with each other
Kent Fire and Rescue Service also said there were no deaths. A spokesman said: ‘Crews are currently at the scene of a serious RTC (road traffic collision) involving up to 100 vehicles.
‘There are no fatalities but ambulance crews are dealing with a large number of walking wounded casualties. Firefighters have used hydraulic cutting equipment to release five people from their vehicles.
‘Crews are currently at the scene of a serious crash on the New Kingsferry Bridge (A249) in Sheppey involving multiple vehicles. Kent Police and a number of SECAmb (South East Coast Ambulance Service) ambulances are also in attendance.’
A Kent Police spokesman said: ‘At the moment there are no reports of fatalities but obviously we have a lot of vehicles there and there could be people trapped.’
DID THE FOG CATCH OUT DRIVERS?
Drivers in the Kent bridge pile-up might have been caught out by the irregular nature of the fog patches this morning, forecasters said.
Some areas of Kent were relatively free of fog during the early rush-hour but there were also some dense patches in places, said Paul Mott, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup.
He went on: ‘It could well be that drivers were caught by surprise. In some places in Kent visibility was not too bad, with fairly clear areas where you could see for up to 10km. But there were also some patches of dense fog, with visibility down to below 100 metres in places.’
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