M26 Pile-Up: Lorry Driver Held After Two Killed

A 45-year-old lorry driver has been arrested after two people died in a pile-up involving five vehicles on the M26.

Two French nationals, aged 22 and 16, lost their lives in the collision and seven other people were taken to hospital.

Two lorries, two cars and a box van were involved in the crash on the west-bound side of the road on Wednesday morning.

The accident closed the carriageway for the day before it finally reopened at 4am on Thursday.

Many Twitter users reported being stuck in the resulting traffic jams for several hours.

The Red Cross sent its emergency teams to help those stranded, many of whom found themselves in stationary cars in unseasonably warm April weather.

Chief Inspector Matt Kendall from Kent Police said: 'We appreciate that some members of the public were inconvenienced for some time but, in light of the tragic circumstances of the incident, we had a duty to conduct a thorough and detailed investigation at the scene.

"We worked with other emergency services to free traffic from the area and to reopen the road as quickly as possible.

"We are continuing to appeal to anyone who witnessed the collision, or the events prior to the collision, to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit urgently on 01622 798 538."