3 people killed after car and propane tanker collide on U.S. 51.

Three people died when a car and semi-truck hauling propane crashed on U.S. Highway 51 near Harshaw on Tuesday, the Oneida County Sheriff's Department said.

The crash happened about 1:15 p.m. as a winter storm blanketed parts of central Wisconsin with more than six inches of snow. Traffic was being detoured and the road closure lasted for hours, the state Department of Transportation reported.

No other details were immediately available and the names of the fatalities were not released pending notification of families, the sheriff's department said in a statement.

The Oneida County hazardous materials team was sent to the scene as a precaution, but it was not immediately known whether the tanker ruptured, Lt. Dan Hess said.

Hess said roads in the area were slick at the time of the crash but it was unknown whether that was a factor in the crash.

The DOT said at 3:30 p.m. that Highway 51 would remain blocked for another four hours, with traffic being detoured on Oneida County K to Lakewood Road to Rocky Run Road.