Woman dies during police pursuit

The deceased woman had been in the Corsa with a man and child

A woman was killed and four people taken to hospital when a car collided with a Mercedes which was fleeing police in east London.

An unmarked police car had tried to halt the black car on Bethnal Green Road by switching on its blue lights.

The Mercedes then sped off, crashing with a Vauxhall Corsa, containing two adults and a girl, and other vehicles.

A woman in the Corsa died and a man and a girl from the car were injured. The two occupants of the Mercedes fled.

Debris on road

However, two other people - possibly occupants of another vehicle which may have been involved in the crash - were also hurt.

An ambulance spokeswoman said four people were taken to hospital, including a man who has a "life-threatening" head injury.

He was taken to the Royal London Hospital along with the young child from the Corsa.

A 45-year-old woman was in a stable condition in Homerton Hospital with serious injuries and a 47-year-old man suffered "minor" back pain after the crash.

A police cordon has been put in place in Bethnal Green's Hague Street, near the scene of the incident.

Six vehicles, including two black cabs and a 4x4 vehicle, are behind the cordon, with debris covering the road.

Scotland Yard's Department of Professional Standards has launched an investigation, a police spokesman said.