Tanker skids off highway, explodes in Baltimore

A vehicle involved in a crash sits on the fast lane of Highway Interstate 80 after an accident during a snowfall, Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Lodi, N.J. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Authorities say two people were killed and more than a dozen were injured when a gas tanker skidded off an interstate highway in Baltimore and exploded.

Baltimore City Fire Chief Roman Clark said the tanker fell over the jersey wall on Interstate-95 and burst into flames early Saturday.

Clark said there was also pileup involving 55 vehicles. He said it's unclear whether the pileup started before the tanker crash or was caused by the incident.

Clark says 15 people with taken to the hospital.

Scores of traffic accidents were being reported across the region due to slick roads. Clark said the roads were very icy, but it's too early to say what caused the tanker to careen off the highway.

The National Weather Service issued a freezing rain advisory for the Baltimore-Washington D.C. region early Saturday and warned of travel difficulties on slippery roads.

Washington Dulles International airport reopened two runways after having to close all runways for more than three hours due to icy weather.

Wintry weather forced the airport to halt all flights early Saturday. The airport says two runways reopened for flights as of 10 a.m., but that travels should expect residual cancelations and delays.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority says Reagan Washington National Airport is operating normally, but some flights may be delayed or cancelled due to bad weather along the East coast.

A spokesman for Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport says the weather is causing some delays and cancelations but no runways have been closed.