ATLANTA (AP) — Authorities have uncovered an eighth body at the scene of a devastating highway collision in Georgia involving a semitrailer and a van, Deputy Jackson County Coroner Dean Stringer confirmed on Tuesday.

The tragic incident occurred on Monday afternoon when the semitrailer collided with the van, igniting a fierce blaze, as reported by law enforcement officials.

According to the authorities, the semitrailer was following the Dodge van too closely on Interstate 85 in Jackson County, roughly 62 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of Atlanta, when the accident took place.

Following the initial impact, a total of four additional vehicles were involved in a subsequent “chain reaction” crash, officials stated.

Among the vehicles caught in the aftermath was a van operated by Furkids Animal Rescue and Shelters. The driver of this van sustained head injuries, including bruises and cuts, as shared by CEO Samantha Shelton.

“In the chaos of the wreckage, cages were crushed, and cats began to flee,” the Cumming, Georgia-based animal rescue group wrote on its Facebook page.

The group was taking 37 cats to a shelter in Vermont, and some of the cats fled after the crash, Shelton said. Two were still missing as of Tuesday, and one cat was hospitalized in critical care, Shelton said.

The identities of the people killed have not been released.

“Troopers are still trying to identify and confirm the occupants,” Franka Young, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Safety, said in an email Tuesday afternoon.

Seven people in the van died at the scene, authorities said shortly after the crash. The eighth body was discovered later at the crash site, but details about where the person was found were not immediately released.

The crash is being investigated by the Georgia State Patrol’s Specialized Collision Reconstruction Team, Young said.