Three women are dead and two men are fighting for their lives after a horror highway crash in Queensland involving a Greyhound bus and a four-wheel drive towing a caravan.

Dozens of passengers were also injured and had to be treated in a makeshift triage area at the crash site on the Bruce Highway near the town of Gumlu, between Bowen and Townsville.

The three women who were killed were bus passengers, as were four men who were rushed to hospital. Two of the men remain critical and the other two are stable.

It’s understood driver of the bus, which had 33 passengers on board, escaped serious injury.

Two people from the 4WD that had been towing the caravan were also uninjured.

Severely injured passengers were choppered to nearby hospitals. Photo: RACQ CQ Rescue

Superintendent Graeme Paine said shockwaves from the catastrophic collision would be felt across community and the nation.

“An incident of this size and scope … particularly on a highway, is very confronting,” he said.

“It certainly has an impact that reaches right through from the first responders to the families, to the local communities and this is something that will have a really big impact.”

Emergency services rushed to the Bruce Highway, in the Whitsundays region, shortly after 11am on Sunday.

Police said a four-wheel drive pulling a caravan collided with the bus that was travelling in the opposite direction in a 100km/h zone.

Vision showed extensive damage to the front end of the bus, which came to a stop on a railway line.

The bus had left Brisbane and was about 1½ hours from its destination in Townsville when the deadly accident occurred.

Greyhound Australia CEO Dan Smith said staff at the company were “heartbroken” about the three deaths.

“This is a tragic incident and our deepest sympathies go out to those involved and their families and friends,” Smith said.

“We are working closely with authorities to assist them with their investigation in understanding the course of events that have led to this accident. We are also providing support to members of our team impacted by this tragedy.

“We will provide further updates as more information becomes available and ask that you respect the privacy of those involved at this extremely difficult time.”

Along with the three dead women, several other people were treated at the scene. One person was flown to a nearby hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

Police did not confirm the identities or ages of the three people killed, nor did they speculate as to the cause of the incident.

“The crash is under investigation. We haven’t determined any factors that have contributed to the crash at this stage, but certainly a crash of this nature, involving this many people is a very significant, very tragic incident for us,” Paine said.

#UPDATE: Three females have tragically died, four people are fighting for life and dozens others are injured after a major crash involving a Greyhound bus and caravan on the Bruce Highway at Gumlu just after 11am. #9News

DETAILS: https://t.co/1FjnpqqGOH pic.twitter.com/mZ1dDMIDM8

— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) June 30, 2024

The Bruce Highway was closed in both directions for most of the day as police urged motorists to avoid the area.

-with AAP