Foggy Shandong Highway Disaster: Five Confirmed Dead After Chain-Reaction Crash Involving Multiple Vehicles

Jinan, China— Five people were killed Saturday morning when dense fog triggered a massive chain-reaction pileup on an expressway in Shandong Province.

The crash happened at around 6:40 a.m. local time on the G2 Beijing-Shanghai Expressway near the Dezhou section. Visibility had dropped below 50 meters. More than 30 vehicles, including trucks, buses, and passenger cars, slammed into each other across three lanes. Some caught fire.

Shandong traffic police said the first collision involved two trucks that jackknifed after one braked hard in the fog. Vehicles behind had no time to stop. The impact pushed wreckage across the median. The highway turned into a field of twisted metal within minutes.

Rescue crews pulled five bodies from crushed vehicles. At least 12 others were injured, three seriously. They were taken to hospitals in Dezhou and Jinan. The expressway was closed in both directions. A 10-kilometer traffic jam formed before dawn.

"We could not see 20 meters ahead. Then brake lights, then a loud bang," one driver who survived told traffic officers. The fog was described as unusually thick for the season, forming rapidly after overnight rain.

The provincial meteorological bureau had issued a yellow fog warning at 5 a.m., an hour before the crash. The expressway operator said it had activated speed limits and warning signs. Police are now checking whether some drivers ignored the limits. Dashcam footage is being collected.

The Ministry of Emergency Management said it has dispatched a team to assess the response and whether fog closure protocols were followed. In Shandong, expressways are supposed to close when visibility drops below 50 meters. This section remained open with restrictions.

Tow trucks worked for six hours to clear the site. Oil and debris covered the road. By noon, one lane reopened under controlled traffic. The smell of fuel and burned rubber hung over the area.

The investigation is focused on visibility, speed, and traffic control decisions.