Four Dutch nationals died in a collision involving three Porsches just over the border in Germany, police have confirmed.

The victims were a woman aged 37 and three men aged 39, 42, and 56 respectively. A fifth person sustained minor injuries.

The accident, on the A3 near Emmerich, happened at around 11am on Sunday morning when the driver of a Porsche Cayman lost control of the car and crashed into a barrier.

The second car stopped to assist but was then hit by the third Porsche which lost control on the same stretch of motorway.

The final crash killed two people who had managed to get out of the first car and the man who helped them. The driver of the third car died on the way to hospital.

There are no indications of alcohol or drug use by the drivers but it had been raining and driving at high speed may have caused the cars to aquaplane on the wet surface, a German police spokesman said.

Dutch police said they believed the sports cars were taking part in a rally from Doetinchem to Cuijk, in Noord-Brabant, via Germany. The A12 motorway between the border and Arnhem was closed for several hours following the crash.