More than 40 vehicles were involved in a highway pileup in central Turkey on Monday morning as dense fog and ice created hazardous driving conditions.

A series of accidents saw cars, buses, trucks and vans crash into each other 15 kilometers (9 miles) outside the Konya city center on the highway to Ankara. Emergency services said 38 people, some with life-threatening injuries, were taken to the hospital.

One driver told reporters that he was initially struck by a car that had been forced from the opposite side of the highway to face oncoming traffic.

"Then I saw my car getting hit from every direction," he said.

Images from the crash site showed one car lying crushed under a truck and lines of vehicles crashed into each other. As emergency workers strapped a wounded passenger to a stretcher, the shrewd cries of the injured could be heard all over the crash area.

"I was in a bus," one man said. "A traffic police car stopped us. Then as we went ahead, we saw the crashed vehicles and people stuck in these cars. The firefighters and paramedics were trying to help the stuck people."

Thick fogs prevailed in most of central Turkey although temperatures have considerably risen compared to recent weeks. Authorities are warning against low visibility in cities in central Turkey from Konya to Sivas.