Chilling photos show the horrific aftermath of the fatal Timaru crash that killed five teenagers on Saturday night.
All five people who died were aged 15 and 16 years old, with police saying the car "broke in half" after colliding with a pole shortly before 7:30pm.
Six people were in the five-person car when it crashed and one of the victims was found in the boot. The 19-year-old driver survived and is in hospital.
Photos of the car show it crushed and in several pieces, with the back half completely separated from the front.
Local police area commander Inspector Dave Gaskin said at a news briefing on Sunday morning that it appeared speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
"I can confirm that five young boys, aged between 15 and 16, lost their lives in the crash and the driver of the vehicle is currently in Timaru Hospital in a stable condition," Inspt Gaskin said.
"We know obviously what the end result of the crash was - our job now is to seek the reasons why and what happened, and the investigation will continue."
He said the families of the victims have been notified, but police were not yet in a position to release their names.
"They are all Timaru boys. Timaru's a very small community and I'm sure this is going to touch a lot of people - I know the family of one of the boys so it is a tragedy.
"They woke up today to a nightmare that won't go away. Any crash where someone loses a life is a tragedy and I think the tragedy goes to the family forever - five young boys at that age losing [their] life is terrible.
"It will reverberate around our community for a long time."
