Three people are believed to have been killed after a petrol tanker collided with two cars in north Queensland.
Debris was strewn across the bitumen of the Bruce Highway and into a neighbouring paddock, 4km north of Bowen, following the crash on Tuesday afternoon.
The tanker's upturned fuel trailer jutted into the air blocking the roadway, while the truck lay on its side still attached in grass nearby.
The truck driver was uninjured in the accident, Queensland Ambulance said.
Fuel spilled across the highway following the crash but a large percentage of the 11,000 litres of diesel needs to be pumped out before the truck can be removed, police said.
The highway is expected to remain closed for seven hours, causing headache for travellers.
The traffic artery is the only coastal road in the area and not easily bypassed, police said.
Forensic crash investigators are travelling to the site.
Police at the crash site confirmed the deaths, the Courier Mail has reported.
