Three people are dead following a three-vehicle collision near Nova Scotia’s Antigonish County.

The RCMP responded to the crash on Highway 104 in Dagger Woods, N.S., before 4 p.m. Saturday.

Police say an eastbound vehicle collided with a westbound vehicle, and a third car then crashed into the pile-up.

“It was a very traumatic collision. It was a very chaotic scene, not only for first responders, but for those involved in the collision, and motorists who happened upon the collision,” said Cpl. Dal Hutchinson, media relations officer for the Halifax District RCMP.

“There were a number of bystanders that assisted those involved in the collision until emergency first responders attended the location.”

Police say a 67-year-old woman and a 36-year-old woman were pronounced dead at the scene. They had been travelling in the same vehicle and were both from Victoria County.

The two occupants of the second vehicle were taken to hospital in Antigonish. One of the occupants, a 60-year-old woman from Antigonish County, later died in hospital. The second occupant remains in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

One of two people in the third vehicle was taken to hospital with minor injuries.

One witness said there was a steady rain at the time of the collision, but police aren’t saying whether weather was a factor. The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

“The investigators will be conducting a mechanical inspection of the three vehicles involved in the collision to determine if there were any mechanical issues that contributed to the collision,” said Hutchinson. “We have and will continue to talk to witnesses who observed the collision take place.”

A section of the highway was closed to traffic until 10 p.m. Saturday.