4 children, 2 adults hurt in head-on crash near Coalhurst, Alta.

Six people, including four children, are in hospital following a serious crash near Coalhurst early Wednesday morning.

At about 12:05 a.m., Coaldale RCMP responded to a head-on crash on Highway 3 at the interchange for Highway 3A.

When emergency crews arrived, they found one of the vehicles engulfed in flames and another with "substantial front-end damage" due to a head-on collision, RCMP said.

The male driver of the second vehicle, who is from Lethbridge, sustained minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital. His 7-year-old son was taken to hospital in Calgary in critical condition.

The driver of the vehicle that caught fire, a woman from Calgary, sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

The passengers of that vehicle – children aged 16, 13 and nine – all from the same family – were taken to a Calgary hospital in life-threatening condition.