Five people are dead after a collision involving multiple vehicles and a semi-truck occurred Thursday night in Texas.

The accident took place at approximately 11:23 p.m. on Thursday night in Austin, Texas, on Interstate 35 southbound, according to Capt. Krista Stedman, public information officer for Austin-Travis County EMS.

Crews arrived on scene to find multiple patients pinned in their vehicles with a total of 17 patients and 17 vehicles involved, officials said.

In total, five were found dead at the scene — including three adults, one child and one infant — while 11 others were taken to hospital, authorities said. The names and conditions of those involved have not yet been released.

“This incident was incredibly chaotic, and it was spread out over about a tenth of a mile,” Stedman said. “So without the collaboration of our partners, we would not have been able to manage the scene as well as we did. We were able to get all the critical patients off the scene within about 40 minutes and, considering how complex the scene was, that’s pretty impressive.”

Authorities said they are investigating the cause of the crash but that it may take some time to figure out what exactly happened.

“The vehicular homicide unit is doing their job,” Thayer Smith, assistant chief of the Austin Fire Department, said during a press conference. “They’re going to do an investigation, which is why the highway may be closed for an extended period of time, because it is a very lengthy process.”