Officials report that a minimum of eight individuals lost their lives in an incident on the outskirts of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

A truck collided with multiple cars that had come to a stop on the highway after an earlier accident. One of the vehicles seemed to be carrying a highly flammable substance.

Videos captured at the site depict the highway, connecting Guarenas and Caracas, consumed by flames. Caracas-based firefighters and emergency services rushed to the scene to extinguish the fire and attend to the injured.

The governor of Miranda state, where the crash occurred, mentioned that 16 vehicles ignited in the incident, which occurred after 07:00 local time (11:00 GMT). Social media footage displays a charred passenger bus overturned on the highway.

Carlos Pérez Ampueda, the deputy minister of risk management, provided details on the unfolding tragedy.

He explained that a minor collision involving a truck and three cars occurred on the Caracas-Guarenas lane, where old asphalt was under replacement. Subsequently, another truck collided with this site.

The initial accident took place at 07:00, followed by the second at 07:15. Poor weather conditions might have hindered the second truck driver's visibility of the first accident site, according to Pérez Ampueda.

But locals took to social media to complain that road maintenance had been neglected in many parts of the country during Venezuela's economic crisis.

Some also pointed out that poorly serviced heavy goods vehicles had been involved in a number of recent accidents.

Too bad