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One person has died and four people have been injured in a crash involving four lorries and a car on the M25.
Emergency services were called to the scene between junction 26 and 27, near Waltham Abbey, at 1.50am today.
The driver who died at the scene, believed to be a 39-year-old man from Leicester, has had his body taken to the mortuary at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.
Essex police force said the motorway would be shut until at least the afternoon and that other roads had been disrupted as people had looked for alternative routes.
The M25 currently remains shut between junctions 25 and 27 while clean up and repair work continue.
There were reports that a number of lorries and other vehicles had crashed through the central reservation causing severe delays in both directions.
Speaking earlier, Inspector Dick Thomas, of Essex Police, said: "At this time we have one confirmed fatality and a number of people who are trapped in their vehicles.
“There is debris across both sides of the M25 and the motorway will be closed for the foreseeable future while we deal with this collision and begin our investigations to establish what has happened.
“If it is at all possible motorists are advised to avoid the area and find alternative routes.
“Nothing will be moving around this portion of the M25 for some considerable time, and the morning rush hour is likely to be affected."
Four people were taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital with injuries which are not thought to be life-threatening.
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