The crash happened just before 6pm yesterday at M40 Southwest, between junctions 4 and 2 in Buckinghamshire in nearby Loudwater. The chaos has led to a five-mile-long legbin for drivers as first responders arrive on the scene. Eleven of the injured were taken to hospital in critical condition. Emergency services have not yet confirmed the cause of the crash and are currently monitoring the situation.
South Central Ambulance Service tweeted: “A huge number of our ambulance families took part in the M40 collision tonight to take care of more than 20 casualties. There were seven ambulance crew, two paramedic officers, tactical advisers, two in our scene. Scas_hart The team, critical care vehicle from Thames Valley. Staff from the Air Ambulance and Neighboring Ambulance Trust and the local hospital are two off-duty members.
“They have reviewed more than 20 casualties, 11 of whom have been hospitalized with serious or serious injuries.
“Our crew diagnosed other casualties at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.
“A huge thank you to everyone who took part tonight.”
Ambulance crews and firefighters from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield, Gerard’s Cross and Maidenhead all worked at the scene.
The Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service also tweeted earlier: “Evening.4.47: Crowds are called to report a collision south of # M40 between Junction 4 (Handy Cross) and 3 (Loudwater).”
Reports from BerkshireLive and other local outlets claimed that emergency services had closed two lanes, leaving five-mile long queues for drivers.
The lanes were reopened around 9:30 pm, but there were reports of major delays and traffic jams over the M40 for the next hour.
Social media reports claimed that the drivers involved in the accident were trapped in their vehicles and that emergency services tried to free those involved by cutting off the vehicle.
A Twitter user claimed: “Just passed in the opposite direction! That’s bad!
“Vehicles being cut open, 20-30 cars must be involved!”
Another user claimed that the delay was partly due to the “blocking” of a vehicle at the M40’s “hard shoulder” junction.
Additional report from Rachel Russell