The police have released the names of two members of a shearing gang killed in a car crash near Poolburn in Central Otago early on Thursday morning.
Stewart Hetaraka Smith, 20, and Lavenia Setefano, 19, died when their van rolled on a stretch of road between Ophir and Oturehura just after 6am.
Four other shearers who were in the van have been taken to Dunedin Hospital, three of them in a serious condition.
Detective Sergeant Derek Shaw says speed and fatigue are strong considerations in the cause of the crash.