Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Aerial images showed the aftermath of the crash

A motorway pile-up involving 56 vehicles has killed 17 people in China, according to Chinese state media.

The crash happened on Monday morning on an icy road in North China's province of Shanxi.

An additional 37 people were injured when the vehicles collided during snowy and rainy weather on the Beijing-Kunming expressway.

Images from the scene showed lorries that had been completely crushed by the impact.

One truck was thrown through the air, landing on the vehicles in front of it, while others dangled off the side of the road, above a sharp drop to the ground below.

Image copyright AP Image caption Rescuers tend to the aftermath of a motorway pile-up on the Beijing-Kunming expressway in northern China

Cranes were brought to the scene as rescuers tried to work through the wreckage.

State media has since reported that all the injured are in a stable condition.

The World Health Organization estimates that more than 250,000 people die in traffic accidents every year across China, though official government statistics report a far lower number.</s>BEIJING (AP) — Dozens of vehicles collided amid snowy weather in northern China, leaving 17 dead and 37 injured, state media reported Tuesday.

A total of 56 vehicles were involved in the accident on a major expressway in Shanxi province on Monday under cold, slick conditions, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It cited local authorities as saying the injured were in stable condition.

Xinhua said an investigation into the cause of the accident is under way. Highway accidents are common in China because of high speeds, aggressive driving and a failure to leave adequate braking distance.</s>The crash involved 56 cars on the Beijing-Kunming highway in China's Shanxi province around 9 a.m. Monday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

It had been snowing and raining before the accident, which also injured 37 people, Xinhua said.

A day after the collision the highway was still closed to traffic, according to the Shanxi Traffic Control Center.

An official investigation is underway.</s>A 37-vehicle pile-up on a motorway in northern China killed four people and injured more than 40 on Monday, disrupting traffic in both directions, Chinese state broadcaster CCTV said.

Most of the vehicles involved in the accident in Shanxi province were large trucks, the report said, adding that the cause of the accident was being investigated.

About 200,000 people die on Chinese roads each year, according to the World Health Organisation.

In a bid to improve road safety, the government has recently cracked down on the overloading of trucks.</s>The crash involved 56 vehicles on the Beijing-Kunming highway in China's Shanxi province around 9 a.m. Monday, according to state news agency Xinhua.

"The fog was heavy, so I drove slowly when I exit the tunnel," one driver involved in the incident told state-run CCTV. "I saw two vehicles horizontally blocking the road, so I stepped on the brake."

It had been snowing and raining before the accident, which also injured 37 people, Xinhua said.

Firefighters told CCTV that when they arrived they fought a blaze at the front of the pileup.

"While some of us manned the hoses, a chief officer led the rescue efforts of trapped personnel," firefighter Wang Ruobing said. The road was blocked as rescuers worked to free those trapped. A day after the collision the highway was still closed to traffic, according to the Shanxi Traffic Control Center. An investigation is underway.</s>17 people dead, 37 others were injured after major crash involving 56 vehicles on Beijing-Kunming expressway in Shanxi Province, Mon pic.twitter.com/w3OcmKWxIC</s>A huge pile-up on a Chinese motorway killed at least 17 people when a total of 56 vehicles crashed into each other in winter weather, state media said.



The accident happened in snow and rainy weather in the northern province of Shanxi, on an expressway linking Beijing with Kunming, Xinhua reported.

Pictures of the scene showed lorries scattered haphazardly across the road, some of them overturned, and burnt-out wrecks of cars after the crash on Monday.

Another 37 injured people were stable after treatment, Xinhua said.

Traffic accidents are common in China, with the World Health Organisation estimating that more than 260,000 people were killed on the country’s roads in 2013.

The WHO figures are strikingly higher than official pronouncements, in a country where government data are often questioned. The National Bureau of Statistics reporting 58,539 traffic fatalities that year – less than a quarter of the WHO’s approximation.
A 56-vehicle pile-up on the G5 Beijing–Kunming Expressway in China's northern Shanxi province, leaves at least 17 people dead and 37 others injured.