Child fighting for life after Waikato crash

Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman said it was "a little unusual to have so serious an incident so close to a town". Photo / Supplied

A child remains in a critical condition and a woman has been transferred to Auckland City Hospital after two people died in a crash in rural Waikato.

Emergency services were called to the crash on Te Kumi Rd on the outskirts of Te Kuiti at 2.12pm yesterday.

Two people died at the scene and four others were injured, two critically. These were a woman and a child, thought to be about 10.

The woman was transferred to Auckland City Hospital and the child remained in critical but stable condition at Waikato Hospital.

Three rescue helicopters were among dozens of emergency vehicles to attend the crash.

A Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter spokesman said it was a little unusual to have so serious an incident so close to a town.

"It was a relatively straight stretch of road," he said.

It was the second multiple fatality crash in Te Kuiti in just over a month. Three friends died after their car collided with a truck on Oparure Rd on January 13.

Senior Sergeant Mike Underwood, of the Waikato District Command Centre, said the two dead were in a north-bound car.

A vehicle following directly behind would have witnessed the crash and police wanted to speak with the occupants.

Inspector Peter Raynes of northern police communications said the crash involved two cars but he was unsure whether it was a head-on collision.

Waitomo District Mayor Brian Hanna the fatalities would be a "big shock" to the community, particularly coming so soon after a triple fatality.

It has been a horror few days on New Zealand's roads with eight people dead in five crashes.

On Friday, two women were killed in a crash near Cascade Creek on the Te Anau-Milford highway in Fiordland.

That night, a Hamilton teenager also died after he lost control and crashed into a tree.

Three people died in a fiery collision between a car and a milk tanker in Patea on Thursday afternoon.

The police serious crash unit is investigating.