Heavy Snowstorm And Black Ice Cause Mendoza Highway Pileup 5 Dead: Emergency Crews Clear Road

Mendoza, Argentina—Five people died Friday afternoon in a massive multi-vehicle pileup along a steep mountain highway in Mendoza province after a sudden blizzard and black ice blanketed the asphalt. Heavy emergency rescue apparatus and civil defense units deployed to the high-altitude pass amid freezing conditions.

The catastrophic collision involved three commercial semi-trucks and seven passenger vehicles near a sharp mountain curve on Route Seven. Gale-force winds and zero visibility caused the leading transport truck to jackknife across both lanes, leaving trailing cars no time to brake on the slick ice.

Provincial highway patrol commissioner Esteban Gomez confirmed at an emergency briefing that five motorists perished inside crushed vehicles trapped beneath commercial cargo trailers. Paramedics established a temporary triage post on the freezing shoulder to treat dozens of injured survivors.

Specialized fire rescue squads used hydraulic cutting equipment to pry open deformed metal doors and extract trapped occupants from wrecked sedans. Mountain rescue teams worked under blizzard conditions as temperatures dropped below freezing across the Andean pass.

Transport ministry officials closed the international mountain corridor completely, stranding hundreds of freight trucks and passenger buses at lower elevation staging areas. Salting and snow-clearing machinery began working to clear accumulated ice from the road surface.

Hospital emergency rooms in Mendoza city activated mass casualty protocols, admitting numerous patients suffering from trauma, hypothermia, and bone fractures. Regional health authorities issued blood donation appeals to support upcoming emergency surgeries for critically injured crash victims.

Meteorologists warned that freezing temperatures and high winds would persist across the mountain passes throughout the night, making travel extremely hazardous. Highway police patrols established roadblocks miles away from the crash zone to prevent motorists from ascending into the storm zone.

Engineers will inspect bridge foundations and retaining walls along the highway stretch once the severe weather front dissipates sufficiently. Authorities urged all transport companies to suspend cross-border freight movements until official road clearance is granted.