Two people have died and seven were injured in a three-vehicle accident during the Dakar Rally according to race organizers.

The accident took place at 9:30 pm local time on Wednesday at the end of the 5th stage between the Peruvian town of Arequipa and Chile’s Arica.

A race support vehicle collided head-on with a taxi, while a second taxi somersaulted trying to avoid the accident.

The driver and a passenger in the first taxi were both killed, while the three passengers in the support vehicle were among seven people who were injured and taken to hospitals in Tacna, Peru.

Peruvian authorities have begun an inquiry into the accident, while several of the race's security and paramedic vehicles were deployed to assist local emergency services in the aftermath of the collision.

The 5th stage saw two Russian Kamaz trucks driven by Eduard Nikolaev and Ayrat Mardeev climb to second and third places in the overall standings behind the leader Gerard de Rooy driving an Iveco.

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