The death toll in a devastating 130-plus car pileup on Interstate 35 West in Fort Worth has risen to 9, with 65 more people taken to hospitals, Report states, citing CNN.
Freezing rain and drizzle are probably to blame, with slick roadways posing a severe danger to travel.
The Fort Worth Fire Department described the accident as a mass casualty incident, meaning local first responders were overwhelmed by the response needed to treat the number of those injured.
All northbound lanes of the highway were closed to traffic as crews responded to the accident, with reports of multiple people trapped and hypothermia concerns if victims were not removed from the vehicles quickly. The accident occurred around 6 a.m.
Police expressed concern that several passengers still trapped in their cars shortly before 11 a.m. were at risk for hypothermia.
Authorities were beginning the lengthy process of "entangling" the heap of vehicles and locating additional victims.
The Fort Worth Police Department confirmed more than 130 vehicles, including more than a dozen semi-tractor-trailers, were involved in the crash.
At a mid-morning news conference, police and fire personnel repeatedly asked for prayers for victims' families. By the afternoon, 65 people were being treated at nearby hospitals for injuries related to the crash, said MedStar spokesman Matt Zavadsky.