Peter Bruyninckx of the Flemish Traffic Centre told VRT News that "There were crashes at several locations over a distance of 1 kilometre. Initial reports point to 28 cars and 2 heavy goods vehicles being involved”.

The VRT’s traffic reporter Hajo Beeckman says that several people have been injured, but it is not clear how many. The emergency services are attending the scene in numbers.

The string of accidents is said to have been caused by heavy rain followed by bright sunshine. The reflection of the sun on the rain that had fallen onto the road surface served to blind drivers.

Drivers are advised to avoid the Brussels-bound E40. Those wishing to travel from Bruges (West Flanders) of the coast to Brussels are advised to do so via Kortrijk (West Flanders). There are also delays on the coast-bound E40 as driver slow down to look at the accidents.