Paramedics fought through flames to try and reach crash family

Ambulance officers have been praised for their heroic effort to try and reach through flames to a mum and four young children involved in a fiery crash near Kingaroy

A Queensland mum and her four young children have died in a fiery head-on crash despite the heroic efforts of paramedics who fought through flames to reach them.

Emergency crews are devastated that they could not save the family, whose station wagon slammed into an oncoming truck south of Kingaroy last night.

Paramedics had to fight their way through flames and smoke to reach the vehicle, which was set ablaze along with the truck.

They managed to pull out one child, a girl who’d suffered horrific burns, but there was nothing they could do to save the others.

Emergency services personnel on the scene of the crash near Kingaroy. Picture: Nine News

The mother and three children died at the scene.

The child pulled from the car made it to hospital and onto a rescue flightbound for Brisbane but she died in the air.

All of the children were under 10.

The truck driver was also injured but managed to free himself as the blaze spread to surrounding grasslands.

Police say the woman had been trying to overtake another truck when her car slammed into another truck travelling in the oppositedirection.

Ambulance Service Assistant Commissioner Stephen Zsombok said paramedics faced a daunting scene.

“There was a lot of fire and smoke. It was very difficult to get to,” he told reporters this morning.

“There was a number of people that were trapped and unable to escape from the fire that had engulfed the vehicle.

“We were able to get through some of the smoke and fire to the small child ... unfortunately that child passed away en route(to Brisbane).”

Mr Zsombok said the scene was nothing short of horrific.

“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those people.”

Police say the family was from Eli Waters at Hervey Bay, about three hours drive from the crash scene on the Bunya Highway at Kumbia, just south of Kingaroy.

“This is a catastrophic incidentscene, it’s certainly one of the worst accidents I’ve ever seen. It’s just a tragedy for everyone involved,” a police spokesmansaid at the scene.

The forensic crash unit is investigating and the highway remains closed at Kumbia, which is just south of Kingaroy.