Two people have died following a five-vehicle crash on the M11 near Stansted Airport.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and will be taken to a police station for questioning.

The collision happened at about 2.15pm today (Thursday) on the northbound carriageway between junctions 7-8 (Harlow to Bishops Stortford/Stansted Airport).

It involved a lorry, horse box and three cars.

The carriageway is completely blocked and is impassable, according to police, and will remain closed throughout the afternoon and into the evening. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and find alternate routes.

Two people in a car have died and the driver and passenger in another car have been taken to hospital in Cambridgeshire. A woman has serious internal injuries and was flown by air ambulance and a man was taken by ambulance with a head injury.

Police are in the process of identifying the people who have died, and the seriously injured woman, to contact their next of kin.

Any witnesses to the crash have been asked to contact the Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 101 or e-mail collisionappeal@essex.pnn.police.uk

A Highways Agency spokesman said: “Road users wishing to access Stansted and travelling on the M25 anticlockwise should consider taking the A12 to Chelmsford, then the A130 north to Braintree, and then the A120 westbound to Stansted.

“Drivers travelling on the M25 clockwise should consider taking the A1(M) and then the A1 northbound up to St. Neots, then the A428 eastbound to Cambridge, where it meets the M11.

“Traffic is being diverted locally at junction 7 on to the A414 northbound to Harlow and then westbound to Hertford. Join the A10 northbound to Puckeridge and then take the A120 eastbound to junction 8 of the M11.”