Volunteer firefighters who responded to yesterday's horror State Highway 2 crash between Tauranga and Whakatāne are to receive counselling to help deal with the trauma of the tragedy.
Three road workers were killed and two injured in the crash, which involved four trucks near Pikowai about 1.50pm. Three of the trucks were engaged in road maintenance at the time. The fourth was travelling east towards Matatā.
Witnesses said the three workers were run into by a truck while they worked to clear a culvert at the side of the road. The highway was closed for several hours, reopening just before 11pm.
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Brent Crowe said police were appealing for more information from anyone who used this stretch of SH2 between 1.30pm and 1.50pm yesterday.
Crowe said there were "a number of investigations" underway, including one by the Serious Crash Unit to determine the cause of the crash.