Firefighters pried their way through heaps of twisted and burned metal after the wreck outside Kansas City

January 24, 2000
Web posted at: 10:05 a.m. EST (1505 GMT)

In this story: Vehicles melted together Highway closed down in both directions RELATED STORIES, SITES

PLATTE CITY, Missouri (CNN) -- A fiery wreck north of Kansas City left 10 people dead Sunday afternoon in a pileup that involved more than 60 vehicles, including several tractor- trailers.

The accident started when a car lost control on a snowy interstate highway, crossed the median and struck another car head-on, Missouri Highway Patrol Trooper Doug Alexander said. Falling snow had covered already icy roads, making driving dangerous across the region.

VIDEO CNN's Thomas Nybo shows the crash scene. Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

The ensuing chain-reaction crash involved 17 cars and five trucks on Interstate 435, which encircles Kansas City. Five of the vehicles burst into flames, trapping several people in the wreckage.

Some of the wrecked vehicles were melted together from the heat of the fire, which burned for about an hour. The wreckage was still steaming in the cold air nearly nine hours after the 1:30 p.m. wreck.

The crash forced a section of the freeway, near Kansas City International Airport, to be closed for hours as crews tried to put out the fire, look for victims and clear the debris. Traffic backed up for miles.

Emergency crews work around overturned vehicles in an effort to clear the roadways

Alexander said more than 40 other cars were involved in other crashes triggered by the initial accident. Dozens of people were taken to area hospitals.

Traffic in the area was backed up for several miles, and the highway was shut down in both directions for about five miles, said Donna Field, of the Missouri Highway Patrol.

In a separate accident, in a separate section of I-435 but at about the same time, Kansas City Chiefs' linebacker Derrick Thomas broke his back in an accident in which another person died, Field said.

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