A dust storm that cut visibility to near zero on Monday triggered a series of chain-reaction crashes involving dozens of vehicles on an Illinois highway, killing six people and injuring dozens, authorities said.

Roughly 40 to 60 passenger cars and 30 commercial vehicles, including numerous tractor-trailer trucks, were involved in the pileup on Interstate 55 in southern Illinois, state police said in a news release.

The crashes were caused by "excessive winds blowing dirt from farm fields across the highway leading to zero visibility," police said. I-55 is currently shut down in both directions.

(With input from Reuters)