Grim task for investigators of car crash that killed six on Stuart Highway near Pine Creek

Investigators have admitted it will be a “long process” to identify the six passengers killed in a car crash due to the severity of the collision.

A four-wheel drive collided with a road train on the Stuart Highway near a small town in the Katherine region on Friday afternoon.

The six occupants of the Mitsubishi 4WD were killed, including four children.

The driver and passenger of the truck escaped with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police are trying to determine what caused the crash, which has become the Northern Territory’s deadliest collision in 16 years.

Investigators admit it will be a “long process” to identify the mangled bodies due to the severity of the crash.

“This was a confrontational crash which resulted in significant loss of life,” Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said.

“Due to the serious nature of the crash, identifying the deceased is likely to be a lengthy process as we work to gain some understanding of the families involved and how the crash occurred.”

Police Commissioner Michael Murphy said Monday it would be a significant investigation.

“We understand it could be a family from the Northern Territory,” he said on ABC Radio.

“A very complex and lengthy investigation is still underway to identify who these people are.”

Police Commissioner Murphy expressed his condolences and sincere thanks to the emergency services who were first on the scene of the devastating crash.

“Our thoughts go out to the extended family and the people who responded to the incident – ​​the police, the fire department, the emergency services, St. John, not just (them), but the two surviving men from the truck,” said he.

‘Also their level of heroism, because they basically tried everything they could, but couldn’t save their lives because of the fire.

“They were transported to the Katherine District Hospital where they were treated for some minor injuries, physical injuries, but I would imagine the psychological injuries for these (men) will last a long time.”

Authorities received reports of a collision between a truck and a car along the Stuart Highway, about 7.5 miles south of Pine Creek, around 4:15 p.m.

“Multiple people within the 4WD have died at the scene and the recovery process has begun this morning,” NT Police said in a statement on Saturday.

NT Police reopened the Stuart Highway on Sunday after significant delays in the area over the weekend.

Sergeant Lindner urged anyone traveling in the area between 2.30pm and 4.45pm on Friday with dashcam footage to contact police.

Anyone with information about the identities and movements of the 4WD occupants is also urged to come forward.

In 2023, 19 lives were lost on NT roads.

Territory Expeditions tour driver Daniel Hall spotted the plume of smoke several kilometers away on the highway, prompting him to rush to the scene.

Police have confirmed that six people, including a young child, were killed after a four-wheel drive crashed into a road train on Friday (pictured, accident scene)

He told NT news that within minutes of the crash, other drivers had stopped to coordinate traffic and provide first aid to the driver of the Shaw’s Road Train.

But no one could save the people in the Mitsubishi.

“Whoever was in that car had no chance of surviving or being rescued in any way,” Mr Hall said.

‘The whole car was one big fireball.

“Those people, they didn’t have a chance.”

Two people in the truck managed to escape and were treated for minor injuries at the Royal Darwin Hospital.

Mr Hall said one of the survivors had ‘cuts and bruises all over’ and a look of ‘utter devastation’ in his eyes.

“When his train caught fire … he had that look on his face like he was getting away with his life by the skin of his teeth,” he said.