Several people were injured after more than 100 cars collided into each other on an icy stretch of an expressway in the Chinese city of Suzhou, Chinese media reported on Friday, the latest accident caused by extreme weather conditions.

Dramatic footage from state television CCTV and social media showed numerous cars clumped together haphazardly on the highway with one jack-knifed at a severe angle in the air. Glass and debris could be seen scattered everywhere.

Over the past few weeks, large parts of China have been hit by cold waves, blizzards and icy rain, impacting transport at a time millions of people are rushing home for the Lunar New Year holiday celebrations.

During this week, the government raised its emergency response for freezing temperatures and also started several response plans for transportation flow, supplies and electricity in provinces and cities including Beijing, Hebei, Shanxi, Anhui and Hubei, Xinhua news reported.