By Tracy Bloom and Ellina Abovian, Tribune Media From Business Insider

One person has died and 12 others were injured following a fiery multivehicle collision on the 5 Freeway near Griffith Park that prompted the full closure of southbound lanes Tuesday, officials said.

Several agencies responded to the Golden State Freeway near Los Feliz Boulevard just before 11 am to reports of a fiery pileup on the southbound side, according to the California Highway Patrol.

When first responders arrived, they found that at least six vehicles — including two commercial trucks — were involved in the collision, said Andy Fox of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Several vehicles were engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived at the crash site.

A total of 75 firefighters from the Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale fire departments responded to the scene and extinguished the flames, according to Fox.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene, Fox said at an early afternoon news conference. A total of 12 patients were treated.

Officials later clarified that the number of injuries initially included the victim who died.

One person was rushed to a hospital in critical condition, while nine others who sustained minor injuries were also transported.

A triage was set up at the crash site, where multiple people could be seen receiving treatment shortly before 11:30 a.m., aerial video from Sky5 showed.

A dog was also killed in the fiery collision.

The Los Angeles County coroner’s office has also responded to the scene, and would identify the individual as well as determine a cause of death. It was not immediately known which vehicle the victim was occupying, authorities said.

Meanwhile, cleanup could take hours, as video from the scene showed the charred wreckage and debris from the crash stretching across both sides of the roadway.

The big rig, which CHP officials said had been loaded with milk, was completely destroyed in the flames. More than two hours after the collision, the semi’s burned-out shell remained across lanes in the middle of roadway.

The crash scene spanned both sides of the freeway, with one vehicle beneath the smoldering big rig on the southbound-side of the road, while a pickup truck straddling the median was up against the semi, Sky5 footage showed. A car facing in the wrong direction was lodged under the back of the pickup on the northbound side.

The other commercial vehicle involved, a tanker truck, collided with the big rig and was badly damaged, aerial footage showed.

The crash ignited a large explosion, sending plumes of thick, black smoke into the air that was visible for miles.

At least one of the vehicles spilled oil across the roadway, and a hazardous material team was at the scene cleaning up. Shortly before 1 p.m., Fox said crews should be done mopping up after the spill between 30 to 40 minutes.

Amid cleanup efforts and the ongoing investigation, all southbound lanes were closed for an undetermined amount of time, and all but two of the lanes were shut down on the northbound side, CHP Officer Ryan Bejar said at the news conference.

CHP has issued a SigAlert for all southbound lanes of the 5 Freeway, just north of Colorado Boulevard.

Bejar was unsure how long the lanes would closed, but estimated the shut down could last up to four hours.

The crash caused significant delays in both directions of the 5 Freeway, and authorities are encouraging motorists to avoid the area and take alternate routes to avoid the traffic congestion.

Southbound traffic is being diverted off the 134, while northbound vehicles are being directed off Colorado Boulevard, according to the CHP log.

Alternate routes to get around the affected stretch of the 5 included the 2, 118 and 134 freeways, according to Bejar.

The crash remains under investigation, and a cause has yet to be determined.

IMAGES:

A multivehicle crash occurred on the 5 Freeway in the Los Feliz area on April 25, 2017. KTLA

Firefighters respond to the crash scene KTLA Twitter

Firefighters responding to the highway crash scene. KTLA

Cars piled up in the highway crash KTLA

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