Police are investigating after five members of the same family were killed when a car crashed into a tree near Taupō this morning.
Emergency services were called to the scene on Tirohanga Road, near Okama Road, at around 7.39am, a Fire and Emergency spokesperson said.
Taupō Area Road Policing Group Detective Sergeant Fane Troy told 1 NEWS six people had been travelling in the vehicle when it crashed.
One person, an 11-year-old boy, survived the crash and was airlifted to Waikato Hospital in a serious condition.
Detective Sergeant Troy said conditions were dry, adding that it was "too early to say what has caused the crash".
"What I can say is that not all the occupants in the vehicle were wearing their seatbelts," he said.
Family members of the deceased took part in a karakia and to "be there in support of the deceased".
The Serious Crash Unit will be investigating.
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