Four women have died and a teenager is in a critical condition after their car hit a tree in Victoria's west.
Police said the car left the road and hit a tree next to Wannon-Nigretta Falls Road in Bochara, near Hamilton, when the driver lost control of the vehicle about 9.30am on Saturday.
Four women died at the scene.
The only surviving occupant, a teenage girl, was flown by air ambulance to The Alfred hospital.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the girl had upper body injuries and remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Victoria Police Sergeant Ryan Nelson, who was at the scene of the crash on Saturday afternoon, said investigators believed the women were all locals.
"The scene is still pretty horrific at the moment," Nelson told Nine News.
"Hamilton is a very close-knit community. There's five people involved in this and all their families and all their friends. It's going to hit the town really hard."
The straight stretch of country road where the incident occurred is surrounded by farmland. Investigators from Victoria's Major Collision Investigation Unit were at the scene on Saturday evening.
"There's a lot of people out there who want answers, and we want to give people those answers, we just need the time to investigate," Nelson said.
Police are yet to identify the women.
The township of Bochara is in Southern Grampians Shire, about 110 kilometres north-west of Warrnambool and has a population of fewer than 100 people.
Victoria's road toll now stands at 128, an increase of more than 30 per cent than the figure - 96 - for the same time last year.
Anyone who witnessed the collision or anyone with dashcam footage is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or visit www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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