4 hospitalized, 1 airlifted after crash in Mission, B.C.

Images from the scene show a vehicle in a ditch off the roadway. It appears to have been the only vehicle involved in the crash. (CTV)

Four people were taken to hospital after a single-vehicle crash east of Mission, B.C., Tuesday night, and police say alcohol was a factor in the incident.

The collision occurred near the intersection of Hawkins Pickle and Bell roads. Images from the scene show a vehicle in a ditch off the roadway.

Police, paramedics and firefighters could all be seen at the scene, and cameras recorded at least one patient being loaded into a medical helicopter after the crash.

BC Emergency Health Services said it received the call shortly after 8:40 p.m. and dispatched six ground ambulances and one air ambulance to the scene.

"Paramedics cared for and transported four patients to hospital," said Brian Twaites, paramedic public information officer, in a statement Wednesday.

In a news release, Mission RCMP confirmed the collision involved only one vehicle, saying it hit with a tree.

There were four people inside the vehicle at the time of the crash, and three of them became trapped inside it because of "extensive vehicle damage," according to police.

The North Fraser Fire Department extracted the trapped occupants, police said.

"At this time, alcohol is believed to be a factor in the collision," the RCMP release reads.

Police said traffic on the CPKC railroad tracks near the intersection was stopped "for a period of time" as a result of the collision.

Mission RCMP Traffic Services and the Lower Mainland's Integrated Collision Analysis Reconstruction Service each attended the scene, according to police.

Mounties are asking witnesses and anyone with dash cam video to come forward, as well as anyone who may have seen the vehicle – described by police as a white SUV – travelling in surrounding areas before the crash occurred.

To share information with investigators, witnesses should call Mission RCMP at 604-826-7161, police said.