More than a dozen cars were involved in a traffic accident on the A2 near Gütersloh on Sunday afternoon. According to the first findings of the responsible Bielefeld motorway police, 15 cars were involved in the accident between the Gütersloh rest area and the Gütersloh exit. According to the fire department, seven people were seriously injured, one of them life-threatening. The seriously injured were brought to the hospital by ambulance, said the spokesman for the Gütersloh District Fire Brigade Association, Michael Schnatmann, of the German Press Agency. A total of 23 people were in 15 participating cars. Some more would also be taken to hospital for examination.

In the accident section, a tent was set up during the operation to shelter the car occupants until they could be seen by the emergency doctors. About 50 firefighters and about the same number of rescue workers were reportedly on site. The fire department spokesman reported on an accident site about 50 to 100 meters long on the A2 near Gütersloh. In the three-lane area, a field of debris extended to about one and a half to two lanes. The fire brigade was alerted on Sunday at around 3:10 p.m.

The A2 was completely closed in the direction of Hanover for rescue and salvage work. A traffic jam about two kilometers long formed. The effects on traffic were kept within reasonable limits, explained the police spokesman. The authority initially did not provide any information about the cause of the accident and referred to ongoing investigations. The "Neue Westfälische" had reported online.