Fuel tanker explodes in massive Florida pileup blamed on fog

BELLE GLADE, Fla. -- A fuel truck exploded as 13 tractor-trailers and several cars slammed into each other on a fog-bound highway early Tuesday, injuring at least six people, two of them critically, authorities said.

Rescuers pulled one truck driver from the wreckage of his crumpled cab, said Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Tim Frith.

He said authorities believe thick fog led to the pileup on U.S. 27 in south Florida.

"Drivers tell me they couldn't even see in front of them," Frith said.

Two critically injured people were taken to hospitals with what Frith described as life-threatening injuries. Four others were treated for less substantial injuries.

The four-lane highway was temporarily closed in both directions near the Palm Beach-Broward county line while the tanker truck was engulfed in flames, Frith said.