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.
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.
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.
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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