Update: Woman dead in seven vehicle collision on M1

Six cars and one motorbike were involved in the collision that caused a full closure of the northbound M1, between junctions 9 and 13.

Police were called to the collision, close to junction 12, shortly after 5.30am.

All lanes had reopened by 3pm, after officers spent ten hours investigating.

Five ambulances, two paramedic officers and a hazardous area response team attended the scene and treated six casualties.

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance service said: “We took six people to the Luton and Dunstable hospital, they were seriously injured and three were elderly.”

Five fire crews and a rescue vehicle also attended the scene.

A Beds Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: “Officers released two women and three men that were trapped in vehicles.”

There were considerable delays in the area which lasted most of the day, delays were on average, two hours.

On Twitter, Ste Collins (@stecollins7) said: “Awful crash on the M1 northbound, you know it’s bad when they are turning cars round and sending them back south but on the northbound side.”

Phoebe Mills (@phoebemills1) said on Twitter: “It just took me 3hours 10 to get from Luton to Dunstable. Oh how I love the m1.”

A driver who was going southbound at 2pm said: “It was surreal, I have never seen the motorway empty like that, there were lorries just sitting in one of the lanes but no one was moving.”

The police are looking for a white van and a red car in connection with the collision.

If anyone has any information about the incident, call 101.