MONTROSE, Ga. (AP) — More than two dozen vehicles collided in a fiery pileup on a Georgia interstate on Wednesday morning, killing at least three people and leaving 12 others hurt, an emergency official said.

Laurens County EMS director Terry Cobb, who is at the scene on Interstate 16 in central Georgia, told The Associated Press at least six vehicles were still on fire when crews arrived. Emergency officials encountered fog on the way to the crash site, though it was not immediately known if that was a factor in the wreck, Cobb said.

"Once we got there, the fog was kind of lifted at the scene," he said.

Cobb said 27 vehicles were involved in at least two or three separate accidents, though emergency responders were still going through the wreckage. At least 12 people were taken to hospitals in the nearby town of Dublin, though most injuries appeared to be minor, Cobb said.

Joy Pope, a 911 operator with Laurens County, said emergency responders were working to extinguish a fire involving a petroleum tanker truck.

The pileup happened near Montrose, about 40 miles southeast of Macon. It shut down a roughly seven-mile stretch of the highway that is a major artery between Savannah and Macon, forcing cars to be detoured around the area.

Video from WMAZ-TV in Macon showed flames and dark, heavy smoke along the interstate.