A stretch of State Highway 1 closed late last night after a fatal crash involving two vehicles south of Kawakawa has reopened.

One person died in a crash along the portion of highway in Waiomio shortly after 5pm yesterday.

Two other motorists were hurt in the collision – one of whom was airlifted in a critical condition to hospital while the other sustained moderate injuries.

Police swiftly closed the road to traffic and kept the area cordoned off for around five hours before reopening the section of SH1 around 10pm.

During that time the Serious Crash Unit carried out a scene examination looking into the cause of the fatal collision with details yet to be released.

Hours later emergency services were called out again near the area this time to Ruapekapeka Rd in Kawakawa where a tanker had left the road.

Police said there were no injuries but heavy haulage was required to shift the tanker which caused significant delays to motorists’ journeys.