5 Dead, Many Injured in Multi-Vehicle Crash on Highway 401 Near Cobourg, Ont.

COBOURG, Ont. (CP) – Five people are dead and several others are in hospital following a multi-vehicle crash this afternoon on Highway 401 near Cobourg, Ont., that left a tanker truck in flames and at least 15 other vehicles among the wreckage.

Gordon Glibbery, site commander for Northumberland Emergency Medical Services, confirmed the five deaths. The accident occurred around 12:30 p.m. in heavy snow that resulted in poor visibility.

A spokeswoman for Northumberland Hills Hospital in Cobourg says the facility is in emergency mode, and extra doctors and staff have been called in.

Dozens of provincial police officers and other emergency crews, including an air ambulance, are on the scene.

The highway is closed in both directions.

Firefighters used foam to suppress the flames from the burning tanker.

The contents of the tanker were not immediately known, but a plume of black smoke drifted northbound.