Two people were yesterday airlifted to hospital with serious leg injuries following a crash at Hilderthorpe.
Senior Constable Ross Lory said the incident happened about 11.20am, just north of Pukeuri, amd involved a camper van and a tractor fitted with a front-end loader, both of which were travelling south on State Highway 1.
''We believe the loader was turning right into Richmond Rd and both vehicles have collided, with the camper van clipping the loader and flipping four or five times.''
A man and a woman, believed to be tourists, had been cut out of the camper van by members of the Oamaru Volunteer Fire Brigade and taken by helicopter to Dunedin Hospital with ''traumatic injuries''.
The driver of the front-end loader was uninjured.
However, a St John spokeswoman said both occupants of the camper van suffered ''multiple leg fractures''.
Police would like the driver of a large red truck who was near the accident and then helped at the scene to contact the Oamaru Police Station.
State Highway 1 was closed about 11.30am and traffic diverted on Ferry Rd to the north and on to State Highway 83 to the south, while serious crash investigators attended the scene.
The highway was expected to reopen last night.
