Four people were killed and dozens injured in two collisions on busy British motorways - one involving over 100 vehicles - as travellers clogged roads today ahead of the Easter holiday.
Police said a motorcycle collided with a van in the morning rush hour on the busy M40 motorway in Oxfordshire, triggering a series of knock-on collisions involving 100 vehicles and snarling traffic in a 15-mile gridlock.
The motorcyclist was killed in the original crash and a second man died later in an Oxford hospital.
The pile-up occurred on the M40 motorway southbound in Oxfordshire, between Oxford and High Wycombe.
Many injured were rushed to hospitals in Oxford - some by helicopter - where they were treated for a range of serious injuries.
British police said thick fog worsened driving conditions and had contributed to the size and severity of the collisions. Many junctions in the area have been closed.
In a separate fatal collision, a truck smashed into two oncoming cars on the M5 motorway in Somerset, southwest England, closing junctions and snarling traffic.
Two people were killed and another was critically injured in the crash.
The pile-ups have caused gridlock on major routes in and out of London and through southern England ahead of the expected rush to get away for the Easter holiday weekend, which begins tomorrow.