Two kids among six dead in Montana highway pileup

Two children are among the six people who died in a Montana pileup after a Friday evening dust storm caused blackout conditions on Interstate 90, a major route in both Montana and the Western United States.

Montana Highway Patrol Sergeant Jay Nelson said investigators so far have found no other factors that contributed to the pileup that also sent eight other injured people to hospitals.

“Everything is indicative of an isolated extreme weather event,” Nelson said of the investigation, calling the crash among the worst he'd seen in 24 years with the state. “What could people do? It really was just panic.”

The pileup was just west of Hardin, with additional ambulances called in from Billings to help. The identities of the dead and the conditions of the survivors are not yet being released.

The crash was reported around 4:30 p.m., as 21 vehicles, including six commercial semi-trucks, lost control in the dust storm that was fuelled by gusts topping 60 mph (97 kph), authorities said.

Nelson said there was zero visibility for a mile-long stretch during a peak summer traffic hour for those commuting home from work or travelling for outdoor recreation.

It took more than six hours to fully reopen the road.

“We had a lot of debris and complete chaos,” Nelson said.

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