NEWTON, Iowa (AP) — A snowy section of Interstate 80 was closed Thursday afternoon in central Iowa after a massive crash involving roughly 40 vehicles. Iowa authorities closed the eastbound lanes of the interstate west of Newton after the chain-reaction crash happened shortly before noon. The Iowa State Patrol said two troopers were in the middle of assisting with several multi-car crashes in the area when the larger pileup happened.

This image provided by the Iowa Transportation Department from a traffic camera shows a massive pileup on Interstate 80, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, west of Newton, Iowa. A snowy section of Interstate 80 was closed Thursday afternoon in central Iowa, after the massive crash involving roughly 40 vehicles. Iowa authorities closed the eastbound lanes of the interstate west of Newton after the chain-reaction crash. (Iowa Transportation Department via AP)

Iowa Transportation Department spokeswoman Andrea Henry said several serious injuries have been reported in the crash but no deaths. Officials are urging drivers to stay off the roads across most of eastern Iowa because they were mostly covered with snow Thursday.

These two images are from the ISP Facebook page