The first victim has been identified after a dust storm caused a 72 vehicle pile-up on the I-55 outside of Springfield, Illinois.
The massive pile-up occurred during a dust storm with low visibility on Monday morning.
Six victims were killed while 37 were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening, and those hurt are two to 80 years old, Illinois State Police said in a statement.
Shirley Harper, 88, was named as the first victim killed in the tragedy.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s office is working to identify the five others and notify their families.
Kevin Schott, the director of Montgomery County’s Emergency Management Agency, said that efforts to rescue victims were hampered by the thick dust on the scene as well as multiple vehicle fires which made it difficult to get to “victims in a rapid manner”.
“This is a difficult scene, something that is very hard to train for, something that we really haven’t experienced locally,” he said.
