Road closed after tragic incident on M1 in Luton

 five dies died in a multi-vehicle crash on the M1 motorway in Luton today.

Five cars and a motorbike collided travelling northbound between junction 11 for Luton and junction 12 for Flitwick just after 02:30am, police said.

Officers said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene and “several others were seriously injured”.

The road is closed and traffic cannot join it from junction 9 for Redbourn to junction 13 near Milton Keynes.

A Bedfordshire Police spokesman advised road users to find another route.

The M1 southbound remains open, but a diversion for northbound traffic has been set up.

Sgt Richard Cruse of the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Collision Investigation Unit, said its enquiries at the scene would “take some time”.

“The vehicles and debris, which is strewn across all four lanes, require us to keep the whole motorway closed for several hours,” he said.

The Highways Agency said there were “significant delays” in the area with tailbacks to junction 8 for Hemel Hempstead and it expected the road to be shut “until this afternoon”.