Three people have died in a head-on collision on a provincial road in Groningen.

The crash happened on an open stretch of the N355 Friesestraatweg, west of the village of Grijpskerk, at around 9am.

Police, fire and ambulance vehicles were all called to the scene, as well as an air ambulance. No details of the victims have been released.

The road between Grijpskerk and Visvliet was closed in both directions while police examined the scene. The cause of the collision has not been established.

A dog that was in one of the cars survived the impact and ran away from the scene, local media channel RTV Noord reported.