Five people are in hospital, including one child, after a "horrendous" car smash on the M8 in Glasgow city centre.
At least five cars and lorry carrying a skip were involved in the pile up near Charing Cross shortly before 9am.
Several people were trapped in the carnage and fire fighters rushed to the scene to free casualties.
Four ambulances were scrambled and paramedics treated people on the hard shoulder of the stretch of road which has a 50mph speed limit.
Parents and their young children could be seen crying and hugging each other as the emergency services worked frantically.
One eyewitness said: "It looked horrendous. Two cars seemed to be completely flattened and there were families with children standing out on the motorway crying and hugging each other. I haven't seen anything that bad before."
A crushed Mini Countryman was surrounded by ambulances and a badly damaged metallic blue Ford Fiesta had spun on the carriageway.
A white truck with CMI Skip Hire branding was also involved in the collision but a spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.
Five people were injured in the collision near junction 18 and the casualties were taken to three hospitals.
A spokesman for the Scottish Ambulance Service said: "We had four ambulances, a medical trauma team and a Special Operations Response Team at the scene.
"Three people were taken to the Western Infirmary, one to the Southern General and one to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children."
A spokesman for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said: "The road traffic collision involved multiple cars and an HGV.
"At one stage three people were trapped. We had three crews and a heavy rescue vehicle at the scene."
The M8 was closed westbound at junction 18 and traffic was diverted off the motorway at junction 17, down Newton St and back on to the M8 at junction 19.
A spokeswoman for Police Scotland said: "A lorry and a number of cars, believed to be four or five, were involved in a collision. At least two people were trapped in two separate cars.
"There was a full closure of the M8 westbound at junction 18."
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