FIVE people were killed, including a caravanner, and several other caravanners injured in a spate of caravan accidents.

One man, who had been travelling in a station wagon towing a caravan, died when the rig smashed into a tree in New South Wales.

Police said the northbound rig had just overtaken another caravan and had returned to the left hand side of Lachlan Valley Way south of Boorowa when it suddenly veered off the road.

The Ford Falcon's 45-year-old driver and 75-year-old front seat passenger were airlifted by helicopter to Canberra Hospital but the older man died shortly after admission. A 14-year-old girl from the vehicle was taken to Yass Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The highway was closed for six hours while police investigated the late afternoon crash and breakdown crews cleared debris.

A report was being prepared for the coroner.

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FOUR people died in a horror smash involving a caravan on the Newell Highway in northern New South Wales.

Two caravanners were hurt in the high speed multi-vehicle crash near Narrabri in which a Ford Falcon sideswiped a ute towing the caravan before smashing into a four-wheel-drive.

Three adults in the Ford died at the scene, while a fourth from the 4WD later died in hospital.

Police said a woman from the ute suffered serious injuries but her companion escaped with minor injuries.

The highway was closed for several hours while investigators from Barwon Local Area Command investigated the tragedy.

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SAFETY fears have been raised after two caravanners escaped with minor injuries when their rig careered 15m down a lakeside embankment in north Queensland.

The drama happened on the narrow unsealed Danbulla Road which hugs the picturesque Lake Tingeroo near Cairns.

The caravanners - aged 50 and 51 - came to grief when they met an oncoming vehicle at a blind bend on the popular tourist route. They scrambled from their wrecked rig and were taken to Atherton Hospital.

Dalrymple MP Shane Knuth has called for warning signs on the road, telling media: "There are a lot of roads on the Tableland that are dangerous for vehicles towing caravans."

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CARAVANS were involved in three separate accidents within 26 hours on the Bruce Highway near the Sunshine Coast.

Two of the crashes happened within four hours of each other on southbound lanes of the busy highway south of Caloundra.

No major injuries reported, but traffic was brought to a standstill as breakdown crews cleared debris from both sites.

In the first accident, a Brisbane couple escaped when their caravan rolled on the highway just north of the Nambour Connection Road exit.

The following day, a 4WD and caravan rolled when the 69-year-old driver lost control of his rig at Wild Horse Mountain south of  Caloundra.

Traffic was returning to normal when another caravan towed by a 4WD collided with a minibus on the highway just north of Caboolture.

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A CARAVAN was wrecked after rolling near Goondiwindi in Queensland.

The caravanners escaped serious injuries in the afternoon accident on a flat, straight stretch of the Gore Highway about 40km east of the town.

Police, ambulance and fire teams attended the scene.

One witness told Caravanning News: "It looked as if the caravan had been over at least once and was squashed sideways."

He said police declined his offer of help and as he drove away people were busy piling the contents of the caravan in a heap at the roadside.

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A CARAVANNER escaped serious injury when his rig was involved in a three-vehicle smash at a notorious blackspot near Warwick in Queensland.

The accident happened on the Cunningham Highway near summit of Cunningham's Gap and it is understood the caravan was part of convoy making its way from Brisbane to South Australia.

Police said the caravan and tow vehicle became detached and ended up in the bush, with the 28-year-old driver being taken to Warwick Hospital with minor injuries.

Warwick District Road Safety Advisory Group chairman Graham Buchner said the stretch of road was a well known accident area and he urged drivers to take extra care.

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A STRONG gust of wind caught a caravanner unaware on a NSW highway, causing his rig to swerve and roll.

The accident happened as the 51-year-old Victorian traveller was heading east on the Oxley Highway near Carroll.

Police said the man braked when his dual-cab ute and caravan began swerving, causing it to jackknife and roll over.

The ute became detached and the badly damaged caravan came to rest on its wheels.

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