Some media reports says massive pile-up of 95 vehicles in Kazakhstan has left 20 injured after drivers go too fast in treacherous conditions.
The Times of Central Asia reports that KazAvtoZhol, the government agency that oversees the country’s highways, said on Telegram that the horror crash happened on the Astana-Petropavl highway on January 3 after escorts from the police and KazAvtoZhol had organized the movement of traffic toward the country’s capital, Astana. Traffic had reportedly been restricted for all vehicles early in the morning after warnings of deteriorating weather, including heavy snowfall, blizzard, high wind, poor visibility and ice.
The cars piled into each other amid heavy snowfall, blizzards, poor visibility and ice. Some of the drivers and passengers were reported to have been suffering from hypothermia.
Kazakhstan’s Emergencies Ministry said on Telegram that it also helped with rescues and evacuations and that a total of 152 people and 68 units of equipment were involved in the operations.
Some 71 people, including eight children, were evacuated, taken to a staging area and provided with hot meals, the Emergencies Ministry said. Another 10 people were hospitalized.
