Several people have been seriously injured after a multi-vehicle crash which involved two ambulances in central Queensland.
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00:00We're still learning more details as this situation continues to unfold, but what we
00:06do know so far is that emergency crews were called out to the Bruce Highway near Jindoran,
00:11which is in the Gladstone region, right near Granite Creek Forestry Road, about five hours
00:16north of Brisbane, just after 1.50am this morning, to reports that a truck had driven
00:22off the road and crashed into a ditch.
00:24Now, what we do know as well is that police confirmed that there was low visibility in
00:28the area, that's largely due to smoke from a fire that's been burning since Sunday.
00:33They say that that, combined with the heavy fog that's also been in the area, caused the
00:37single truck crash to turn into a multi-vehicle pile-on.
00:42Paramedics confirmed that there were five BB trucks that were involved in this crash,
00:46including two of their own paramedic trucks that had actually crashed into the original
00:51truck on their way to the site.
00:52Now, the paramedics were treated at the scene, they received minor injuries, but they opted
00:57to continue to treat those that were there at the scene, and they are being assessed
01:01at the hospital as we speak.
01:03The Queensland Fire Department says that there were three people that were trapped inside
01:07each one of those BB trucks that had been involved in the collision.
01:12They had to work with their hydraulic tools to free them, and they've since been taken
01:16to hospital, including a man in his 20s who had serious head and facial injuries, another
01:21man also in his 20s who had head, leg and chest injuries, as well as a man in his 50s
01:27who had serious life-threatening injuries.
01:29He's since been taken to Gladstone Hospital and we're keeping him across his condition,
01:33but one witness that has spoken to the ABC, a local tow truck driver, Corey Hinley, says
01:39that that stretch of road is notorious for being quite dangerous, and he says that when
01:43he was coming around the bend, he had to swerve quite quickly just to avoid the crash site.
01:47There was fog and smoke, definitely, all the way from Childers, it was very minimal.
01:54When I came around the corner, I only just saw the hazard lights on the truck and that's
01:58what made me swerve to go around them, and it was just a freak accident.
02:01The truck was just running off the road and the ambulance had just hit him.
02:06Now, motorists that are driving between the Gingin area and Miriam Vale area are being
02:11advised that there are heavy delays.
02:13There is also still quite thick smoke around the area, so there is still low visibility.
02:18It's about a 100km stretch of road that's been impacted along the Bruce Highway due
02:22to this crash, and the Bruce Highway does remain closed in both directions around that
02:26area, so authorities say they expect that to be the case for the rest of the day.