6 dead in China expressway pileup

Six people were confirmed dead in a pileup involving six vehicles on an expressway in east China's Shandong province Thursday, local authorities said. The pileup happened at 8 a.m. amid heavy fog on a provincial expressway linking the cities of Binzhou and Laiwu, the Gaoqing county government said in a press release. The victims were not identified in the release and the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation. The document said traffic on the expressway had resumed and the weather had cleared by midday. Many parts of north China were enveloped in fog this week. Beijing's air was rated as "hazardous" on Thursday, and the local weather bureau said the skies will likely remain shrouded until Saturday.