TWO PEOPLE HAVE died after as many as 150 vehicles smashed into each other in pile-ups caused by heavy fog on a busy Dutch highway during rush hour, rescue officials said.

At least 26 people were injured.

The accidents happened shortly after 0600 GMT on the busy A58 highway between the southern cities of Goes and Middelburg about 150 kilometres southwest of Amsterdam.

“Two people died in the crash,” Zeeland police spokeswoman Esther Boot told AFP.

“Twenty-six others were injured, among them several seriously,” she added.

The crashes, which happened on both sides of the highway “were due to heavy fog”, provincial safety spokesman Hans Hubregtse told AFP.

Hubregtse said 50 ambulances have been sent to the scene at Heinkenszand, about eight kilometres outside Goes.

The most seriously injured were taken to hospital in Rotterdam, while others were treated locally, officials said.

Witness Inge Geldof told the NOS public broadcaster she “suddenly saw a wall of mist” before being able to brake just in time to avoid the accident.

“The visibility was less than 50 metres (164 feet) and yet people were driving at full speed,” another witness told local radio station Omroep Zeeland.

- © AFP, 2014