Police and fire attend the scene of a fatal crash at the southern entrance to the Terrace Tunnel

A person has died after a van and car collided at the southern entrance to Wellington's Terrace Tunnel.

A blue Peugeot with a crumpled rear could be seen against the barrier of the southbound lane, 50m away from the tunnel's entrance.

A Crown Relocations van towing a trailer sat further down the road, with a damaged front bumper.

The tunnel was closed completely just before 8am on Wednesday, causing significant queues of rush hour traffic to back up along the main route into the capital's central city.

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It reopened in both directions just before 1pm, roughly five hours after the crash, the New Zealand Transport Agency said.

The driver of a blue Peugeot died at the scene. The driver of the Crown Relocations van is understood to be alright, after being transported to Wellington Hospital with minor injuries.

Police were tracking cones from the descending northbound lane.

An officer stood on the Ghuznee St overbridge asking pedestrians to move along.

A Wellington Free Ambulance spokeswoman said one person with minor injuries was transported to Wellington Hospital.

The serious crash unit would be investigating.