BOGOTA, Colombia — A pile-up at a toll booth on a busy highway in central Colombia on Wednesday morning killed at least two people and injured 19, local authorities said. Witnesses described several explosions while images of the collision showed vehicles engulfed in flames.

The crash happened when a milk truck lost control of its brakes and collided with six other vehicles and a motorcycle that were at a toll booth on a road in the Cundinamarca region, 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the capital, Bogota, Gov. Emilio Rey said on X.

Rey said the injured are being treated in nearby hospitals, but did not provide details on their conditions.

Images broadcast by Colombian media showed people crying while helping or rescuing those who were trapped, vehicles in flames and destroyed.

“I saw when the truck went through the toll booth, then there was an explosion, it overturned, and there were strong explosions and vehicles burning,” Hollman Osma, a witness to the accident, told local outlet Noticias Caracol. “There was absolutely nothing that could be done.”

At least 11 ambulances, firefighters and police officers were deployed to the area, Rey told Noticias Caracol. The road remains closed.

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