Three highway pileups killed five people and injured 18 more in heavy fog Monday morning in Hefei,?east China's?Anhui Province, police said.

Cheng Yue, an officer of the provincial highway traffic police brigade, said two were killed while eight injured as 16 vehicles crashed on a section of a highway that links the provincial capital of Hefei with Nanjing, the capital of neighboring Jiangsu Province.

In another highway pileup that involved 17 cars, one was killed and five injured, Cheng said.

The third pileup involved dozens of vehicles and left two dead and five injured, he said.

Heavy fog enveloped many parts of eastern China over the past two days, disrupting air services and forcing the closures of highways in many regions.