Traffic diversions are likely to remain in place in Katherine after a high-speed crash on Katherine Terrace Thursday night pinned two passengers in the rear seats of the vehicle who are now in a critical condition, while two others are reportedly stable in hospital, NT Police said.

Superintendent Craig Garland said the two male rear passengers, aged 24 and 19, have sustained critical injuries and have been airlifted to Royal Darwin Hospital where they remain.

The other two male passengers, aged 20 and 32, were taken to the Katherine Hospital in a stable condition, Supt Garland said.

He told the ABC that police on duty spotted a red Holden Commodore travelling at high speeds along the Stuart Highway north bound 11:00pm Thursday night.

“By the time police located the car, it had crashed into a light pole on a median strip, caught alight and burst a water main,” he said.

St John Ambulance needed to carefully extract the two rear passengers as they were pinned in the vehicle, he added.

He did not mention however if police suspected the men were intoxicated when the accident happened.

NT Police has announced that the Stuart Highway is closed between the Bicentennial Intersection and Giles Street and traffic is still being diverted.

Major Crash and Katherine detectives are investigating the circumstances of the crash.

Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner meanwhile urged the public with any information, CCTV or dashcam footage of the crash to coordinate with them and contact police on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 quoting file number 9505920.