MANCHESTER.N.H.- Two people are dead following a head-on collision in Amherst Friday afternoon, involving a commercial heating oil truck and two other vehicles which closed a major highway for 10 hours.

Authorities say the crash on Route 101 near Merrimack Road occurred a little before 1:30 p.m. when a westbound sedan crossed the center line and struck an oncoming oil delivery truck head-on which sent the sendan spinning into the westbound lane where it was then hit by a pickup.

Due to the impact the tanker ended up rolling off the side of the road and caught fire, while two other vehicles came to a rest on the opposite shoulder.

Police have confrimed that both the driver of the sedan and the driver of the tanker died at the scene but have to release their identies pending notificiation of family, while the driver of the pickup was not injured.

Due to the crash Route 101 was shut down between Baboosic Lake Road and Route 101A for roughly 10 hours for a hazardous materials cleanup and accident reconstruction.