Four people have been seriously injured following a two-vehicle crash in Waikato this afternoon.
As a result, State Highway 25 between Waitakaruru and Kopu has been temporarily closed.
"Due to a crash between Canal East Rd and Pouarua Rd N, the road is blocked," Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency has warned. "Motorists are advised to expect delays and to avoid the area."
According to police, the crash happened around 1pm.
Emergency responders remain at the scene.
Elsewhere in the Waikato region, five children between the ages of 10 and 13 were seriously injured overnight following a car crash in Matamata.
Police found a Nissan Tilda in a ditch around 11.55pm along with the children, who were taken to Waikato Hospital via ambulance and helicopter. Four of them are in the intensive care unit, police reported this morning.
Morrinsville-Walton Rd was initially closed but had reopened by this morning.
In Auckland today, a fallen tree on State Highway 1 caused several hours worth of headaches for travellers heading north.
The tree was cleared by mid-morning, but congestion remained due to holiday traffic, according to transport officials.
"Motorists are advised to expect northbound delays between Silverdale and Wellsford," the agency warned around 9.30am. "Allow extra time for your journey."
But by 2pm, the congestion in the area had eased, the agency reported.
Crews were sent to the site of the large fallen tree, about 1 kilometre south of Puhoi, at around 6.30am. The tree blocked northbound lanes but was causing delays in both directions.
By 8am, most of the backup was confined to northbound lanes.
"Contractors are on site and stop/go traffic management is in place to remove the tree," the agency reported at the time.
It had caused delays of 10 to 15 minutes for northbound traffic between Silverdale and Warkworth.
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