Police expected the number of dead to go into double figures once they have all been removed from the scene. Most of the injured lost their familys. Many of the cars were melted to the tarmac by a big fireball which was 100 yards long. 4 of the 7 comfirmed dead were in 1 car. There were a number of explosions and black smoke. It’s not something you expect to see on the motorway, it was more like a scene from Afghanistan.
The accident occurred at 8.25pm on Friday after a bank of fog or smoke 200 yards thick enveloped a section of the M5 between junctions 24 and 25, close to Taunton. The pile-up appeared to have begun when an Iceland lorry entered a fog which one motorist said was “like emulsion”. Police said vehicles were “immediately alight” after the crash as a “massive fireball” engulfed the carriageway. Mobile phone footage showed members of the public desperately trying to pry open vehicle doors in an attempt to rescue those trapped inside.
Witnesses spoke of hearing the screams of men, women and children. One man who rescued people from burning cars had to dodge debris “like shrapnel”.
The scale of the fire left many cars unrecognisable and the scene was described as a “mash of many, many vehicles”.
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