At least 16 dead after highway accident in Venezuela

At least 16 people died and six more were seriously injured after a fiery 17-vehicle pile-up on a highway in Venezuela, the country's fire chief Juan Gonzalez told AFP on Wednesday, Report informs, citing foreign media sources.

"So far there are 16," Gonzalez said when asked about the death count in the crash earlier in the day on the Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho highway, which connects the capital, Caracas, with the east of the country.

Carlos Perez Ampueda, deputy minister for risk management and civil protection, had earlier reported eight fatalities in the incident but warned that the number would "increase significantly."