CHENGDU, Dec. 19 -- At least four people were killed in eight separate road accidents Friday morning on a highway in southwest China's Sichuan Province, local authorities said.

At around 9 a.m., a five-car pile-up resulted in a fire on the Cangshan section of the highway that links Chengdu and Nanchong. At least one person was killed in the accident.

Seven crashes followed the first incident, killing at least three people, the provincial work safety bureau said.