Tourist killed in Taranaki crash

A woman tourist is dead after a two vehicle smash in Taranaki yesterday.

Emergency services were called just after 4pm after a Nissan Pathfinder and a two-door Honda Integra collided head-on a narrow road, near Urenui, north of New Plymouth.

The front seat passenger in the rental car, a woman in her 50s, died and the driver, a man in his 40s, was airlifted by the Taranaki Rescue Trust Helicopter to New Plymouth Hospital with serious injuries.

Police said the couple were believed to be tourists from Europe and they were trying to trace and notify next of kin.

French language guidebooks were scattered in the passenger seat of the Integra, The Taranaki Daily News reported.

The driver of the 4WD, a 20-year-old woman from Stratford, and her front seat passenger, a 24-year-old man from Canada, were also taken to New Plymouth with moderate injuries.

Senior Sergeant Matt Prendergast said they did not yet know why the collision on the slightly bending road had occurred.

"My guys told me that initially when they got out here it was raining. However it is too early to say whether or not that was a factor.

"It's too early to say whether speed or inattention were a factor either."

- NZPA