LONDON - Dozens of people were injured, eight of them seriously, in a 100-car crash along the A249 Sheppey crossing in Kent, England, the BBC reported on Thursday.

The BBC said firefighters had freed five people from their vehicles. It quoted one witness as saying visibility was very poor, but drivers were approaching the crossing with no lights. Others at the scene described a mass of tangled cars, lorries, and a car transporter.

Some reports said the crash went on for 10 minutes as cars continuously collided with each other.

Driver Martin Stammers told the BBC the scene was "horrendous" and described seeing cars under lorries and people lying on the floor. He said visibility was about 10m to 20m when he approached the bridge and saw five cars smashed into each other with one across the outside lane. He managed to squeeze through a gap between that car and the central reservation, he said.

"For 10 minutes afterwards, all we could hear was screeching, cars thudding into each other, lorries crashing," he told the BBC. He said he and his son ran to warn other drivers and warn cars to slow down.

"Later, a woman came up to us sobbing saying, 'Thank you, thank you! You saved my life'," he said.

Chief Inspector Andy Reeves told the BBC the crash was over a "protracted area" with undamaged vehicles between others which had collided. He said there were a number of injuries but no-one had died.

Several people, who were still in their vehicles, may have suffered serious injuries, he added.

When asked if the fog had been a factor, Mr Reeves said: "It's too early to give a cause. The weather will be a factor. I can confirm that it was, and it continues to be, very hazardous. It was described to me as a very thick fog and it was certainly low visibility at the time."

The 100-million pound (S$199 million) four-lane Sheppey crossing, which connects the Isle of Sheppey with mainland Kent, opened in 2006 and is 1.25km long and rises to 35m at its highest point.