Kopuriki and Forestry Road near Murupara. Photo / Stephen Parker
Four people have died in a horror crash in a remote forestry block in the Bay of Plenty this morning.
The crash happened at the intersection of Bonisch Rd and Parapara Rd in the Kaingaroa Forest.
A fifth person is believed to have survived the initial crash with critical injuries and was trapped in a vehicle.
The area is remote and isolated but security staff were stopping access to the forestry roads. A reporter at the scene said this was the only human interaction she had seen.
A St John communications spokeswoman confirmed one person has been flown to Waikato Hospital in a critical condition.
Police were called at around 6.40am to the crash between a car and a truck.
The area is closed to all traffic while authorities attend the scene.
St John ambulance has three ambulance vehicles at the crash.
Two rescue helicopters have also been dispatched.
A St John alert says they had five patients at the scene.
As of yesterday, the road toll to date stood at 210 deaths on the roads this year.
A Ministry of Transport spokesman said they were in the process of adjusting those figures as a result of today's horrific crash.
The number of deaths on New Zealand roads the same time last year was slightly higher, with 219 road deaths confirmed between January 1 to July 28, 2018.
Last year's total road toll was the highest since 2009, with a total of 381 people killed on our roads. In 2009, the annual road toll recorded was 384.
Winter sports-related injury claims have consistently gone up over the past five years.
