Police are scrambling to figure out what caused the Northern Territory’s deadliest road crash in more than 15 years after six people, including four children, died in the Stuart Highway collision.

A Mitsubishi Pajero collided with a road train near a small town in the Katherine region on Friday afternoon.

The crash sparked a massive fireball and six occupants of the four-wheel-drive died at the scene, including four children.

The driver and passenger of the truck escaped with non-life-threatening injuries. However, NT police commissioner Michael Murphy said their psychological injuries will be “phenomenal”.

“It’s very upsetting, it’s very distressing … We’ve never seen anything quite like it,” he said.

The road train belonged to Shaw’s Darwin Transport, which said it was arranging support for the driver and passenger, and their families.

“One of our trucks with two drivers travelling from Darwin to Perth was involved in a particularly destructive and tragic accident when an oncoming vehicle veered into the path of our vehicle and it was confirmed … that six people lost their lives in this accident,” Shaw’s said in a statement.

“This is a deeply traumatic event, particularly for those involved and their immediate workplace colleagues.”

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said the investigation was still in its early stages. But there were indications alcohol had been involved – thought he did not say if it was on the part of the car or the road train.

“This was a confronting crash that has resulted in significant loss of life,” Lindner said.

“Due to the severe nature of the crash, identification of the deceased is likely to be a long process as we work to bring some closure to the families involved and to understand how the crash occurred.”

Lindner said the road train was carrying 10,000 litres of fuel at the time of the crash, which contributed to the enormous blaze.

Police are yet to confirm the identifies of those involved, though they believe there were two adults and four children in the 4WD.

Authorities received reports of a collision between a truck and car along the Stuart Highway, approximately 12 kilometres south of Pine Creek, about 4.15pm.

“Multiple people within the 4WD are deceased at the scene, with the recovery process commenced this morning,” NT Police said in a statement on Saturday.

NT Police reopened the Stuart Highway on Sunday after significant delays in the area over the weekend.

Lindner urged anyone travelling in the area between 2.30pm-4.45pm on Friday with dash-cam footage to contact police.

Anyone with information on the identity and movements of the 4WD occupants are also urged to come forward.

There have been 19 lives lost on NT roads in 2023.

– with AAP