A teenage girl is in Rotorua Hospital with serious leg injuries after a head on two-car crash involving eight people near Ngongataha – seven of which were injured.

The Tauranga based Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter was returning to Tauranga from delivering a cardiac patient to an Auckland hospital when it was diverted to Ngongataha at about 4.30pm on Sunday.

The Tauranga-based Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter. Photo: File.

The crash was on Ngongotaha Road, near Kokiri Street.

Trustpower TECT Rescue Helicopter pilot Liam Brettkelly says they were diverted there with an Intensive Care Paramedic on board as resources where stretched in the region.

Liam says a 13-year-old Rotorua girl, who received serious leg injuries in the crash, was flown to Rotorua Hospital for further treatment.