Dense Fog Causes Twenty Car Pileup On German Autobahn, Multiple Injured, Expressway Closed For Hours

Munich, Germany— A chain-reaction crash involving 20 cars slammed shut a fog-covered stretch of the A9 autobahn north of Munich at 6:50 a.m., leaving drivers trapped in mangled metal and visibility at less than 30 meters.

The pileup started when a sedan braked hard in thick fog, police said. The cars behind had no time to stop. Within seconds, vehicles piled into each other across both northbound lanes. Some cars were pushed under trucks. One vehicle caught fire, but occupants escaped before flames spread.

Rescue teams found a 400-meter debris field. Airbags deployed, glass everywhere, cars stacked at odd angles. A paramedic on scene said, "You could not see the end of the crash, the fog swallowed everything, we heard horns and crashing before we saw it."

Seven people were taken to hospital, two with severe injuries. More than a dozen others were treated at the roadside for cuts and shock. A bus with 20 passengers was caught in the jam but avoided direct impact. Its driver kept the doors closed to keep people away from traffic.

The German weather service had issued a dense fog warning for the region at 5 a.m. The A9 section is a high-speed corridor where many drivers travel at 130 km/h or more even in low visibility. Police said speed and following distance were likely factors.

The autobahn was closed for six hours. Traffic backed up 12 kilometers. Drivers were rerouted through secondary roads, which also clogged. Tow crews had to bring in heavy wreckers to separate interlocked vehicles.

The interior ministry said this is the third major fog pileup on the same corridor this autumn. Calls have grown for mandatory variable speed limits linked to weather sensors. Currently, electronic signs advise lower speeds but do not enforce them.

Insurance investigators arrived to document positions before vehicles were moved. Dashcam footage from several cars has been collected.

The road reopened just after 1 p.m. with a 60 km/h limit. Police are still interviewing drivers to establish the exact sequence.