Six killed in ‘ball of fire’ after their 4WD collided with road train on Stuart Highway near Pine Creek

The six victims of a horror head-on collision had ‘no chance’ as their car went up in ‘one big ball of fire’, according to a witness.

A four-wheel drive Mitsubishi Pajero with six occupants – including a child – collided with a road train carrying cars and trailers carrying mangoes on the Stuart Highway near Pine Creek, a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory, just after 4pm. on Friday.

The Mitsubishi went up in flames while Territory Expeditions tour driver Daniel Hall spotted the plume of smoke several kilometers away on the highway, prompting him to rush to the scene.

Mr. Hall told it 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 involved in the trick 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.

Detectives remained at the scene on Saturday, with NT Police saying it could be more than a week before the dead can be identified due to the ferocity of the fire.

“Police, fire and (paramedics) were confronted with a terrible scene and first tried to save those who might have been,” Chief Inspector Daniel Shean told police. ABC.

A Mitsubishi Pajero 4WD with six people inside crashed into the road train before both vehicles caught fire on the Stuart Highway near Pine Creek, a small town in the Katherine region of the Northern Territory (photo, police at the scene of the accident)

Chief Inspector Shean confirmed that one of the crash victims was a very young child.

“The driver and passenger of the truck were taken to hospital, there was an infant child who was found deceased from the (four-wheel drive), and a number of people in the (four-wheel drive) had also died,” he said.

He found that the fire that started after the collision caused ‘irreparable damage’ to the four-wheel drive ‘and to the occupants’.

Detectives are working to identify the victims, but police say their identities will not be confirmed for at least another week.

The driver and passenger of the road train are in the Royal Darwin Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Their truck was pulling three trailers, including two filled with mangoes.

“I have been in a number of serious accidents in my career and this one ranks right up there in terms of crash severity where we have a vehicle that has collided head-on with a truck,” Chief Inspector Shean added.

The Major Crash Investigation Unit will investigate whether various factors, including speed and attention, contributed to the incident.

NT Police remained at the scene on Friday providing diversions for light vehicles along the Stuart Highway.

It resulted in significant traffic delays, with motorists urged to avoid the area.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner urged anyone traveling between 2.30pm and 4.45pm on Friday with dashcam footage to contact police.

“This incident has and will impact a large number of people in the community and all efforts are being made to identify and retrieve the deceased and notify their next of kin,” he said.

Anyone with information about the identity and movements of the four-wheel drive occupants is also urged to contact police.