Small child dies after car hits power pole near Tauranga

The scene of a serious crash at Oropi. Photo/George Novak

A young child died after a car hit a power pole south of Tauranga last night.

Emergency services were called to the incident on Oropi Road, near Castles Rd, at 7.43pm.

Fire Service spokeswoman Megan Ruru said staff arrived to find a small child trapped in the car.

The child was removed from the wreckage into an ambulance.

It was later confirmed the child had died, Ms Ruru said.

No details about the driver of the car were available.

A witness at the scene told the Bay of Plenty Times she saw emergency services working on two people in a paddock where a car had stopped after crashing into a power pole.

Power was out in Ohauiti and Oropi following the crash.

Powerco listed the outage at 7.46pm with an estimated restoration time of 4.30am.