THREE people died in a two-car accident on one of the busiest roads in Suffolk early today.Two women and a man died instantly when a Renault Laguna and a Vauxhall Astra were in collision on the A12 at Blythburgh shortly before 1am today.

THREE people died in a two-car accident on one of the busiest roads in Suffolk early today.

Two women and a man died instantly when a Renault Laguna and a Vauxhall Astra were in collision on the A12 at Blythburgh shortly before 1am today.

The other four people in the vehicles were also taken to hospital with serious injuries, one was said to be in a critical condition.

The victims are all believed to be in their 20s. The police are still trying to identify them and contact their next of kin.

A man in the Laguna was declared dead at the scene. The other occupants were taken to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston.

A woman in the car was taken to the hospital by ambulance while another man in the car was airlifted to Gorleston by a search and rescue helicopter from Wattisham. His condition was today described as critical.

Two women in the Vauxhall Astra were killed in the accident. Two other women and a man who were also in the car were taken to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance.

The road was sealed off for many hours while police investigated the accident, which happened at the Hinton crossroads.

The crossroads is on a slight bend at the top of a hill and there are no houses nearby.

At one stage the Suffolk police helicopter was called in after there were reports that one person had been thrown from one of the cars, but no other victims were found.

Police were using the early hours of light today to continue gathering evidence, and early-morning traffic on the main road between Ipswich and Lowestoft was being diverted on to side roads as the investigation continued.

A police spokesman said it was unclear when they would be able to formally identify the victims of the accident because officers were still trying to establish who was in the two vehicles.

The badly-damaged cars were taken away from the scene during the early hours of this morning and were due to be inspected by expert vehicle inspectors over the weekend.

The first call to the police about the accident came in a 12.50am today. Police have appealed for any witnesses who may have seen the accident to contact Pc Gavin Sharpe of the Halesworth traffic division on 01473-613500.