CHANGSHA -- Eleven people died and 68 others were injured after multiple vehicles piled up each other on an expressway in Central China's Hunan province Friday morning, traffic authorities said.

The pile-ups occurred at around 4:05 am on the stretch in Changde City of the expressway from Changde to Zhangjiajie in Hunan, said an expressway administration official.

Twelve suffered serious injuries and two of them were in critical condition, according to the Changde City Health Bureau. All the injured are being treated in four hospitals in Changde.

Traffic control in the section were canceled at 11:10 am.

The cause of the accident is being investigated. Snow is still falling in the area at noon Friday.