At least 5 dead in crashes on Missouri interstate

Chain-reaction collisions involving dozens of vehicles on a foggy interstate in southeast Missouri caused at least five deaths and multiple injuries, and part of the highway will likely be closed into Thursday night, officials said.

The collisions began about 8 a.m. on Interstate 57 as thick fog enveloped the Charleston area, about 150 miles south of St. Louis. Mississippi County Coroner Terry Parker confirmed the five deaths and said a mobile morgue has been set up at a funeral home in Charleston, local media reported.

Officials did not have an estimate of how many people were injured. The interstate was closed for about 25 miles in both directions in Mississippi County from the Missouri-Illinois border to Sikeston, Missouri.