A double fatality on the Crown Range Rd yesterday has brought the Queenstown Lakes District's road toll to five in six days.
The victims, both men, were travelling in a truck from Wanaka to Queenstown when the incident happened just after 3pm, police said.
Southern District Command Centre deployment co-ordinator Senior Sergeant Brian Benn, of Dunedin, said the truck, carrying a load of carpet, was navigating a 25kmh bend when it rolled on its side.
Weather conditions were challenging, with hail and snow showers, he said.
The bodies of the men were trapped inside the cab.
The road was closed for about six hours while emergency services staff, including Queenstown police, St John staff and volunteer firefighters, removed the victims. Police said the road reopened about 9pm.
Senior Constable Julian Cahill, of Queenstown, said at the scene it appeared the truck hit a guard rail at the top of a tight bend. It skidded along the rail and flipped on its side.
The truck came to rest against a bank, about 8km from the Crown Range-State Highway 6 intersection, near Arrowtown.
Police were last night advising the next of kin.
Further details, including the victims' ages, were not available last night.
The deaths have been reported to the coroner.
Yesterday's crash is the second multiple fatality in less than a week in the district. Three Hong Kong tourists were killed last Thursday near Wanaka.
Driver Wing Fai Chan (60), also known as Allan, and two female back-seat passengers, Kwai Tei Chong (61), also known as Connie, and Yin Wan Ng (56), were killed after their hired vehicle collided with a truck and trailer unit on State Highway 6, near Luggate.
A fourth passenger, a 59-year-old man, also from Hong Kong, was flown to Dunedin Hospital with serious leg injuries. A hospital spokesman said he was discharged on Monday.
