German autobahn closed after three die

A 52-vehicle pile-up on a motorway in northwest Germany has left three people dead and 35 injured, according to police.

The accident occurred on the A31 autobahn near the town of Gronau, on the border with the Netherlands. It is believed to have happened in foggy conditions. Hundreds of emergency workers were called to the scene, which closed a six-mile (10km) stretch of the motorway for 24 hours.

The crash is not the largest pile-up on Germany's autobahns in recent years. In 2009, 66 people were injured when 259 vehicles collided in the north of the country.

Weather conditions and excessive speed were blamed then, too.