Woman killed in Auckland motorway crash

A woman is dead after a car crashed into a power pole on the southern motorway in Auckland this morning.

Police said car hit the pole on the southern motorway near the East Tamaki off-ramp, shortly after 6.15am today.

A female occupant of the car has died, while a number of other people in the car were taken to Middlemore Hospital with minor injuries.

The crash has blocked the southbound lanes of the motorway.

Police advise that the motorway closure between the Highbrook & East Tamaki off-ramps, due to the fatal crash investigation, will remain in place for another hour.

Emergency services are at the scene and the Police Serious Crash Unit is investigating.

Provisional holiday road toll, updated to include this morning's fatal, now stands at 11.

The official holiday road period starts at 4pm on Christmas Eve, and runs until 6am on Monday, January 5.

Last year's Christmas-New Year road toll was seven, from a total of 193 reported injury crashes. But the official holiday period was three days shorter than this year.

Two killed in Motorbike crashes

Meanwhile, a man died after crashing his motorbike on sand dunes at Port Waikato.

The 50-year-old was reported missing around 9.30 last night, after failing to return at 6pm.

He was found unconscious and with serious injuries at the bottom of a 15-metre-high dune at around 10.30pm.

And a 29-year-old man suffered serious injuries in a motorbike crash at Pouto Point near Dargaville around 9.15pm.

The injuries were to his head and collarbone.

- Herald Online / NZME. News Service / Newstalk ZB