image captionAt least one vehicle caught fire following the crash on Thursday evening
A motorway will remain closed throughout the day as emergency services continue painstaking work at the scene of a multi-vehicle crash in which people are believed to have died.
The northbound carriageway of the A1(M) at Bowburn, County Durham, was shut following the crash at 18:20 BST on Thursday.
Several vehicles were involved in the pile-up and a lorry burst into flames.
Durham Police said there “appear to have been fatalities”.
Highways England tweeted that the road will stay shut as police accident investigators study the scene and there is no estimate for when it might reopen.
Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said it had taken more than an hour to put out the lorry fire.
Seven crews, including a specialist unit from Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, had been sent to the site between Bradbury and Carrville.
The Great North Air Ambulance was also deployed to transport casualties.
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