A Royal Marine who was one of the first on the scene of the horror M5 crash has described seeing 'body parts scattered everywhere' after rushing over to help.
Alex Morgan, 27, rescued two young children trapped by their seatbelts inside a burning vehicle which had flipped and rolled halfway down a bank.
Mr Morgan, who was travelling to Coventry with his girlfriend Hayley O'Connor described the carnage after rushing to help following the horror collision.
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Hero Marine Alex Morgan has described how he pulled two screaming children from the wreckage of their family's burning car after it was badly mangled in the M5 crash +14
Hero Marine Alex Morgan has described how he pulled two screaming children from the wreckage of their family's burning car after it was badly mangled in the M5 crash
The Royal Marine leapt straight out of the vehicle after seeing a 'dark' car lying upside down in the motorway.
Mr Morgan said: 'For work you get a bit of experience and training in first aid, but this was by far the worst road traffic collision that I have seen in this country.
'It was harrowing. I've seen some dark things during my time, but you never expect to see something like this in the UK.'
The hero Marine was texting at the time when Miss O'Connor slammed on her breaks to avoid the pileup.
'For me, instinct just kicked in straightaway.
'I was the first one to go over to the car to see what was going on, because the accident had only really just happened at that point,' Mr Morgan continued.
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A horror crash has left two children and their mother fighting for their lives after their father died in the M5 carnage that claimed three other lives today. Damaged vehicle can be seen behind the line of police officers in this image
'The children in the back seat were in floods of tears. They were clearly very scared about what was happening.'
After pulling the children from the wreckage, Mr Morgan decided to escort them away from the crash via the boot so that they couldn't see their parents condition.
'I couldn't put a figure on how old they are, but they were certainly young children. I would say that the girl was ten-ish, and the lad about 11.
'We took the decision to get them out of the car straight away, so that they could get some treatment, and to calm them down.
'Because of the condition that their parents were in, I decided to take them out in such a way that they couldn't see the front of the car - by the boot, effectively.'
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Police praised the actions of quick-thinking motorists who went to the aid of victims, pulling them from burning cars as children screamed while trapped in crashed vehicles
Describing the carnage, Mr Morgan said the car was on fire with a man dead and the woman - believed to be the children's mother - unconscious.
'The front of the car was on fire, and we had to go and get some fire extinguishers from a nearby caravan to put them out.
'The woman looked to be unresponsive, but when I checked her pulse she clearly had one.
'I could tell straightaway that the dad was dead. Me and some other helpers looked for a pulse, but you could just tell by the way that he his body was contorted that he was gone.
'The woman kept on moving in and out of consciousness, and because the car kept lighting up again, we had to get her out of there, which she did.
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At least four people were killed in the horror crash involving a lorry, which is believed to have smashed through the central reservation near Almondsbury in south Gloucestershire, while three more are fighting for their lives
'She was bleeding from her nose, and looked to be in a really really bad way. I'm still very concerned for her now.'
Miss O'Connor comforted the young boy while others looked after the girl.
'When the boy came out, Hayley went over to comfort him, and a few went over to the girl.
'It was impossible to talk to either of them. They were fading in and out of shock.
'People were just trying to reassure them that everything would be ok.
'Someone asked me to check out the other car that was involved, but I could tell immediately that there were deaths in there.
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A witness told MailOnline that he pulled an unconscious woman from a badly mangled vehicle while two men at the scene rescued crying children, believed to be aged seven and nine.
'The car was completely smashed up and ruined, and you could body parts had become detached.
'There were just these body parts scattered everywhere. It was horrendous.
'Hayley was really shaken up by the whole thing. She's never seen anything like that before, and it clearly hit her very hard.
'She wasn't able to drive the rest of the way, and to be honest just being in the car was pretty tough after you've seen something like that.
'We've had to drive back home today, and that's been very hard. I think it's something that will haunt both of us for a long time.'
One witness, Daniel Stevenson, 31, described seeing a burning car upside down next to the lorry with two people stuck inside unconscious +14
One witness, Daniel Stevenson, 31, described seeing a burning car upside down next to the lorry with two people stuck inside unconscious
Police praised the actions of quick-thinking motorists who went to the aid of victims, pulling them from burning cars as children screamed while trapped in crashed vehicles.
Another witness, Daniel Stevenson, 31, described seeing a burning car upside down next to the lorry with two people stuck inside unconscious.
The pair came to as 10-15 onlookers put out the fire with extinguishers from towed caravans - while children with head injuries were also pulled from the wreckage.
'I thought they might have died, but they regained consciousness. We saw the car was on fire,' Daniel told the Mirror.
'We tried everything we could to save as many lives as we could.
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Superintendent Simon Ellis said in a statement: 'Emergency service personnel have been working tirelessly at the scene in harrowing conditions and I'd like to praise them for the work they've done and are still doing.'
'One had the roof clean off, and completely destroyed - I saw a couple of fatalities and rang 999.'
Superintendent Simon Ellis said in a statement: 'Emergency service personnel have been working tirelessly at the scene in harrowing conditions and I'd like to praise them for the work they've done and are still doing.
'I'd also like to thank the members of the public who courageously went to the aid of those involved in this collision and in some cases rescued them from their vehicles.
'Our priority is to ensure the victims' next of kin are notified and supported, as well as the ongoing management of the scene, and this important work is ongoing.'
Another witness told MailOnline that he pulled an unconscious woman from a badly mangled vehicle while two men at the scene rescued crying children, believed to be aged seven and nine.
The lorry smashed through the central reservation from the Southbound carriageway and crashed into at least two other vehicles near Almondsbury in south Gloucestershire just before 2.30pm, police have confirme +14
The lorry smashed through the central reservation from the Southbound carriageway and crashed into at least two other vehicles near Almondsbury in south Gloucestershire just before 2.30pm, police have confirme
'The father was dead, I crawled into the car and checked his pulse.
'I pulled the woman, who I believe is a doctor, out of the car and she was given two pints of blood on the side of the road before she was taken to hospital.
'The woman and the children are in a critical condition,' the witness, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline.
The lorry smashed through the central reservation from the Southbound carriageway and crashed into at least two other vehicles near Almondsbury in south Gloucestershire just before 2.30pm, police have confirmed.
A number of people were taken to hospitals in the Bristol area.
The M5 has been closed in both directions following a 'horror crash' involving a lorry +14
The M5 has been closed in both directions following a 'horror crash' involving a lorry
Police said the seven mile stretch of the M5 northbound between Junctions 14 and 16 north of the Almondsbury interchange, South Glos, would remain closed today.
In a statement, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We expect the northbound carriageway of the M5 between J16 and J14 to remain closed for most of today (17/9).
'A significant number of resources remain at the scene of yesterday's multi-vehicle collision and are working hard to minimise the disruption.
'The southbound carriageway was fully reopened earlier this morning.'
A witness, who was one of the first people at the scene, told Mail Online that he had been driving 'four or five vehicles' behind the silver car in which three people and a dog are believed to have died.
'It was like watching a video of a car explosion in Iraq. There was a loud bang and suddenly there were car parts and dust flying everywhere.
Police said the motorway would remain closed in both directions overnight between junctions 16 and 14 as specialist officers worked through the night. The closure will be reviewed on Sunday morning. +14
Police said the motorway would remain closed in both directions overnight between junctions 16 and 14 as specialist officers worked through the night. The closure will be reviewed on Sunday morning.
The bang was from the blown out tyres of a lorry travelling southbound on the M5, which then collided with a black car and both of these vehicles then careered over the central reservation and into the northbound carriageway where they collided with a silver vehicle, according to the witness.
'I pulled over. I was one of the first people at the scene. Everybody in the silver car had clearly not survived so I went straight to help the others.'
He said that paramedics happened to passing and stopped at the scene.
'The paramedics were amazing, the lorry driver's legs were badly trapped in the cab of his lorry but they got him out and he walked away while his wife was brought away, alive but on a stretcher.
The lorry driver survived and was taken to hospital to be checked over, which police said was 'as a precaution.'
Motorists were stuck on the road for hours and emergency services were on the scene with queues reaching back six miles, according to some reports.