Ambulancemen said a third man, who had been driving a Land Rover Discovery, had a miraculous escape.

"If he had been driving an ordinary car, the lorry would have gone over the top of him," said operations manager Mike Moore.

The accident happened during Thursday morning's rush-hour.

Police say an articulated lorry heading south crashed through the central barrier and collided with two other trucks and the Land Rover.

Drivers with mobile phones alerted the emergency services who were on the scene within minutes.

On Friday Mr Moore said it was one of the worst accidents he had witnessed in years.

"It was horrendous," he said. "It must have been an awful thing for people driving to work to see."

The two men - both lorry drivers - were pronounced dead at Leighton Hospital, Crewe. Another lorry driver was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

"We had to get him away from the scene," said Mr Moore. "After seeing the severity of the incident, he felt he couldn't drive any more."

All three lanes of the northbound carriageway were closed for two hours as emergency crews cleared the scene.

The accident led to chaos in Knutsford town centre.

Many roads into town were clogged with traffic as drivers bypassed the scene.

The motorway was finally cleared at 2.20pm - more than six hours after the accident.

"We don't know exactly how the accident happened," said Inspector John Barnes.

Witneses can call police on 01244 350000.

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