Five members of the same family were killed after a car crashed into a tree near Taupō this morning.
The deaths occurred on what has been a horror morning on New Zealand roads, with three others having died in a seperate crash near Ashburton and a ninth person having died hours after flipping his car into a lake near Auckland Airport.
Five people died in a crash near Taupō, three in a crash in Asburton and one person died in an Auckland crash.
Emergency services were called to the scene of the Taupō-area crash on Tirohanga Road, near Okama Road, at around 7.39am, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson told 1 NEWS.
Police said six people had been travelling in a Ford Falcon when it crashed, and one person has been transported to Waikato Hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.
Three females and two males died.
It was a scene of devastation this morning after the Ford Falcon left the road and hit a tree.
Police told 1 NEWS early indications are that some of the victims were not wearing seat belts.
The family of the deceased are at the site and a karakia will take place, police told 1 NEWS.
The road will be closed for some hours. Motorists have been advised to avoid the area if possible while a scene examination is carried out.
The roads around the Ashburton crash site have also been closed while emergency services work on the scene.
A motorcyclist died late this afternoon after a crash near Nelson
Monday's crashes come after five people were killed and multiple others were injured in a horror weekend on New Zealand roads.
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