Power was out in Ohauiti and Oropi following the crash. Photo / George Novak
A child is dead after a car hit a power pole south of Tauranga tonight.
Emergency services were called to the incident on Oropi Road, near Castles Rd, at 7.43pm.
Fire Service spokeswoman Megan Ruru said staff arrived to find a small child trapped in the car.
The child was removed from the wreckage into an ambulance.
It was later confirmed the child had died, Ms Ruru said.
No details about the driver of the car were available.
A witness at the scene told the Bay of Plenty Times she saw emergency services working on two people in a paddock where a car had stopped after crashing into a power pole.
Power was out in Ohauiti and Oropi following the crash.
Powerco listed the outage at 7.46pm with an estimated restoration time of 4.30am.
Oropi Rd has been closed and police have advised residents wishing to get to 740 Oropi Rd or above to travel via Pyes Pa Rd.
Meanwhile, a 54-year-old woman died after a car left the road and rolled near Wanaka tonight.
Police said the grey Ford Falcon crashed about 3km south Luggate, east of Wanaka, about 6pm.
The woman, a passenger, died at the scene.
Police said the driver, a 62-year-old man, was flown to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries.
The police serious crash unit was investigating.
The crash came only hours after a woman was seriously injured in a three-car collision near Milford Sound this afternoon.
Police said a Toyota Prado with five occupants crossed the centre line on a moderate bend about 10km from Milford as it was driving towards Te Anau.
The car collided with a sedan travelling towards Milford, injuring its two occupants, who were both 24-year-old women.
One suffered minor injuries while the other was flown to Southland Hospital with serious injuries.
The Toyota then hit another vehicle, but none of its six occupants were injured.
Police said the Toyota's driver, a 49-year-old man, would be charged with careless use of a motor vehicle causing injury.
Rain, speed and inattention were all believed to be causes in the crash, police said
- additional reporting NZME. News Service, Bay of Plenty Times
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