Two people died on Tuesday after heavy fog caused a 150-car pileup on a busy highway in southern Netherlands during rush hour, rescue officials said.

The accident happened shortly after 0600 GMT on the A58 highway between the southern cities of Goes and Middelburg about 93 miles southwest of Amsterdam.

"Two people died in the crash," Zeeland provincial safety officials tweeted on their official Twitter account.

"The crashes were due to heavy fog and happened in both directions of the highway," provincial safety spokesman Hans Hubregtse told AFP.

Hubregtse said 50 ambulances have been sent to the scene at Heinkenszand, about 8.0 kilometres outside Goes.

The road has been closed off in both directions and rescue workers were still trying to reach some trapped in their cars.