London,Nov 5: At least seven people were killed and 51 injured in a crash involving 34 vehicles on the M5 motorway on Friday night.
The death toll could soar even higher as police said they believe bodies may still be trapped in vehicles which have been left 'burnt and unrecognisable'.
The pileup on the northbound carriageway near Taunton, Somerset, involved 34 vehicles, including four lorries. Police said the vehicles were 'immediately alight' following the crash as a 'massive fireball' engulfed the carriageway.
Officers confirmed that a fireworks display was going on at the nearby Bridgwater Carnival at Taunton Rugby Club which witnesses said cast a pall of black smoke over the motorway carriages when the collision happened at 8.25pm last night.
Chief Constable Bangham confirmed police were probing the theory that the fireworks display distracted motorists. Police could not say whether the fireworks might have been a factor, but Bangham said it was 'certainly something we'll be looking at closely'.
He added: 'There's a number of factors that came into play. It was dark, it was particularly poor weather last night, we had fog banks on the motorway and we also had wet surface issues.'
When quizzed over whether there were still further dead bodies at the crash scene, Bangham said: 'Yes, I'm afraid there are. For a motorway incident this is just about as big as it gets.'
He praised the heroism of the emergency services and members of the public, who attempted to pull people from burning vehicles.
Bangham said:'The intensity of the fire - it was a fireball on the carriageway - made it incredibly difficult for people to approach. 'People did their very best.'
