Eighteen people died in a head-on collision in central Poland today when a van carrying seasonal apple pickers veered into the opposite carriageway in heavy morning fog and hit a lorry.
Police said 16 of the 18 people in the van died at the scene of the crash near Nowe Miasto nad Pilica, 80km south of Warsaw. Two others died after being transported to a nearby hospital.
Television pictures showed the front of the crumpled remains of a red van lodged in a white lorry. What appeared like several body bags were lying on the side of the road.
"All we know so far is that a van pulled over into the opposite lane," a police spokesman said.
"I can't recall such a tragic accident on Polish roads," Andrzej Matejuk, the head of Poland's police, told reporters at the scene. "The vehicle was meant for transportation and had only six seats for passengers."
The van was carrying workers from nearby villages heading to pick apples at one of the local orchards. Most were sitting on boxes in the back of the van, police said.
A regional fire brigade official said that due to the fog, visibility at the time of the crash was about 100 metres.
The lorry driver, who was not badly injured, was hospitalised and would be questioned by police later.