On the highway connecting Berlin with Hanover, the largest traffic accident of the current year occurred — 259 cars were involved in the collision. It all started on a section between the village of Haemerwald and the city of Lehrte, where two cars first collided, and then vehicles following behind began to crash into them. The incident resulted in injuries to 66 people — 340 rescuers promptly arrived at the scene, who freed the victims from the mangled cars and delivered them to nearby medical facilities. In addition, the accident caused a multi-kilometer traffic jam: traffic was paralyzed for about 30 kilometers of the autobahn.