At least 6 people dead in US highway windstorm

A windstorm in southern Illinois kicked up dangerous clouds of blinding dust off farm fields Monday, causing numerous crashes and killing at least six people on Interstate 55, police said.

The late morning crashes involved 40 to 60 cars and multiple articulated lorries, two of which caught fire, Illinois State Police Major Ryan Starrick said. At least six people died, he said.

I-55 was shut down in both directions in Montgomery County, 120km (75 miles) north of St Louis.

Starrick told reporters that it was a spring version of a “whiteout situation” typically seen in winter snowstorms.

“The cause of the crashes is due to excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway, leading to zero visibility,” he said.