Five dead in fiery head-on collision on Australian highway
Canberra, Aug 6
Five people have died after two vehicles collided head-on and burst into flames on a highway in Australia's Northern Territory.
NT Police, Fire and Emergency Services said that two vehicles became fully engulfed in flames following a head-on collision on the Stuart Highway around 12:50 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
A statement on Wednesday evening said that at least four people had died, but an update issued on Thursday said a fifth body was located during the ongoing examination of the scene, reports Xinhua news agency.
Police said that initial investigations indicate that a utility was travelling north when it crossed onto the incorrect side of the highway and collided head-on with a van, causing catastrophic damage to both vehicles.
Members of the public attempted to render assistance but could not extricate the occupants of either vehicle.
The deceased have been identified as a 23-year-old male driver of the utility and his passengers, a 36-year-old man and two women aged 32 and 23, as well as a 69-year-old woman who was the sole occupant of the van.
There were no survivors.
Detective Senior Sergeant Michael Schumacher said on Thursday that witnesses told investigators that the utility was travelling at excessive speed and overtaking dangerously prior to the collision.
"This is an incredibly tragic incident that has claimed five lives and will have a devastating impact on multiple families and the wider community," he said.
The Stuart Highway is one of Australia's longest highways from the NT capital of Darwin on the far north coast to Port Augusta on the south coast.
This comes against the backdrop of another similar incident in Australia's Queensland, where a woman died, and four other people have been hospitalised following a collision caused by a stolen car.
According to the officials, a utility was stolen around 1:10 p.m. on Wednesday before colliding with two other vehicles in the suburbs of Cairns, 1,400 km north of Brisbane, around 15 minutes later.
The 25-year-old female driver of one of the vehicles died at the scene.
Four other people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This is absolutely devastating. A 69-year-old woman just going about her day, and then this happens. Can't imagine the pain for all these families. We need stricter penalties for dangerous driving.
The bystanders who tried to help must be traumatized. 😔 Seeing a car engulfed in flames and not being able to save the people inside is a nightmare scenario. Hope they're getting counseling. This is a wake-up call for all of us to respect road safety.
Driving on Australian highways is generally nice, but this shows how one idiot driver can take away so many innocent lives. Poor souls were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Speeding kills. Period.
Tragic, but also sad that the utility driver was only 23. Sometimes young drivers don't realize the consequences of their actions. All those lives gone, so many families shattered. Deeply saddening.
The second incident in Queensland just adds to the tragedy. Stolen car causing death and injuries. This is a rough week for Australian roads. Also, the fact that people tried to help but couldn't get them out is haunting. Rest in peace to the departed.
This is so heartbreaking 💔 We
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