1.
GV Crashed vehicles blocking motorway.
0.06

2.
LV Crashed lorries and van.
0.11

3.
SV PAN burnt out vehicles.
0.21

4.
LV VAN crashed into side of heavy tanker (2 shots)
0.30

5.
SV ZOOM INTO Concertinad car under lorry.
0.42

6.
LV PAN from police to wrecked cars.
0.54

7.
LV Buckled crash barrier and lorry, with rescue workers
1.01

8.
CU Wrecked cars
1.09

9.
LV ZOOM INTO remains of sports car.
1.17

10.
GV Workmen clearing broken glass from road PAN TO wrecked lorries.
1.30



Initials VS/23.58 VS/0.13



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In one of the worst multiple crashes in British motoring history, nine people died and 51 were injured in a massive pile-up on a fog-bound motorway near Bedford today (Thursday). At least three of the victims were burned to death as flames erupted round crashing vehicles.

The wreckage spread out along a seven-mile (11 km) stretch of motorway. Altogether over 100 vehicles were involved. VISNEWS cameramen Bob Turner filmed the wreckage as 150 emergency workers struggled to clear up the debris.

SYNOPSIS: A nightmare series of crashes on a motorway near Bedford, north of London. It happened during thick fog early on Thursday. Along a seven-mile stretch of motorway, more than a hundred vehicle were involved in crashes. Nine people died -- at least three of them burned to death as fire broke among the crashing vehicles. Another fifty-one people were injured.

It was one of the worst crashes in British motorway history. Within minutes both carriageways had been blocked and rescue teams from four counties were ordered to the scene. In one section, work was hampered by poisonous fumes from a blazing chemical lorry whose driver was trapped in his cab. Survivors later reported that another lorry driver had been crushed to death in the cab of his vehicle, and a woman had been killed by another lorry as the tried to flee from the scene of the crash.

The remains of a sports car. This was the third major English motorway disaster in fog since last September. As in the other cases, police lamed the carnage on the excessive speed at a time when visibility was reduced to twenty yards.