A dust storm affects immigrants in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Foto:
CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP / Getty Images
A dust storm in Montana caused this Friday a traffic jam on Interstate 90 that left six dead.
The Montana Highway Patrol reported that the emergency was reported in Big Horn County.
State Attorney General Austin Knudsen said the incident remains under investigation.
“The Montana Highway Patrol is on the scene with other rapid response employees and they are investigating the incident,” Knudsen was quoted as saying by CNN on Saturday.
“This investigation continues. We will release more information as it becomes available and appropriate out of respect for the lives lost and their loved ones.”
multiple accident, registered at about 4:30 pm, involved about 21 vehicles.
Eastbound interstate travel was rerouted overnight, but I-90 has since reopened.
“I am deeply saddened by the news of the massive fatal crash near Hardin. Please join me in praying for the victims and loved ones. We are grateful for the service of the emergency personnel”, tweeted, for his part, Greg Gianforte, Governor of Montana.
Ariel Dehart saw a wrecked van while driving west on I-90 near the city.
Dehart told CNN that there were only a few first responders on the scene at the time.
“Visibility was poor and it was scary,” Dehart described. “The air was hot and mysterious. It was as if you were wearing sepia-tinted glasses. It was so crazy,” the witness described.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, “sand and dust storms typically occur when strong winds blow large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry soils into the atmosphere.”
In most cases, they are associated with cyclones that increase wind speed in certain areas. “These strong winds drag large amounts of sand and dust from bare, dry soils into the atmosphere and transport them thousands of kilometers away,” the entity explains on its website.