Three Dutch nationals have died and a fourth is in a critical condition after a car overturned in a collision in northern France.

The two-vehicle crash happened near a crossroads outside the town of Jeantes, 70km north or Reims, at around 12.30pm on Sunday.

The foreign affairs ministry confirmed to NOS that the victims, who were all in the same vehicle, were from the Netherlands. They were a 71-year-old woman and two men aged 58 and 74.

A fourth person, a 79-year-old Dutch man, was taken by ambulance to hospital in Reims. A police commander told local newspaper Le Courrier he was in a life-threatening condition.

A 58-year-old woman who was in the car and an 18-year-old man who was driving the other vehicle suffered minor injuries. The ministry said it had offered consular assistance to the Dutch victims.