Three people were killed in two crashes caused by icy conditions on a major motorway in western Germany early on Friday.

The police said this as cold conditions continued to affect transport and schools in parts of the country.

The accidents occurred on the A44 motorway near the city of Paderborn, between the Marsberg and Lichtenau interchanges, according to police in the nearby city of Bielefeld.

According to police, emergency services were alerted shortly after 1:30 a.m. (0030 GMT) after multiple motorists reported crashes caused by slippery road conditions.

In one incident, a lorry collided with an articulated truck carrying paper, causing the trailer to catch fire.

The lorry driver could not be freed from the cab and died at the scene, police said.

The driver of the articulated truck was taken to the hospital.

Police said a further 17 crashes occurred in both directions of the motorway due to icy conditions, including at least one additional accident in the direction of Kassel in which two people were killed.

In the northeastern state of Lower Saxony, many schools closed on Friday due to the freezing rain and extremely slippery conditions.

The police spokesman described the situation on the roads as “catastrophic.”

The police spokesman in Osnabrück said there had been several hundred accidents due to slippery conditions.

(dpa/NAN)