A person has died and four others have been injured following a two-vehicle crash in Ōpōtiki this afternoon.
Police say they were called to the collision on State Highway 2 near Dunlop Rd in Waiotahe around 2pm.
One person died at the scene.
One person was taken to Tauranga Hospital with serious injuries, while another was taken to Waikato Hospital with serious injuries. A further two people were taken to Whakatāne Hospital with moderate injuries.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said it responded with three ambulances, three helicopters, one rapid response unit, one patient transfer vehicle, and one manager.
Three fire crews were called to the scene to extract passengers, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said.
The serious crash unit has carried out a scene examination and inquiries into the crash are ongoing.
SH2 was closed while emergency services attended the scene and has since reopened.