A 70-year-old Canadian woman last night remained in a serious condition and three others were described as stable after a major crash at the Athenree Gorge about 2.30pm on Saturday.
Two of the six people involved had to be cut from the wreckage of the two-car crash on State Highway 2 and the intersection of Athenree Rd and three were airlifted to hospital. Three others were taken to hospital by ambulance.
In one car was an elderly Canadian couple and in the other was a middle-aged couple and their two teenage children, believed to be from Auckland.
Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter pilot Todd Dunham said he flew the 70-year-old woman to Waikato Hospital with neck and chest injuries while the Auckland-based Westpac Rescue helicopter flew a 16-year-old girl and her mother to Auckland Hospital with serious injuries.
The elderly woman's 72-year-old husband was driven to Waikato Hospital by ambulance and a 13-year-old boy and his 43-year-old father were driven to Tauranga Hospital, he said.