A 59-year-old man injured in a crash near the rural Hawke’s Bay settlement of Patangata has been flown to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition.

Emergency services were called to a two-vehicle crash at the Elsthorpe and Middle Rd intersection at 1.34pm on Saturday.

One witness told Hawke’s Bay Today a car and motorbike had collided.

A spokesperson for Hato Hone St John said they had responded with once ambulance, one rapid response vehicle, one operations manager and one helicopter.

The man was treated at the scene and then transported to Hawke’s Bay Hospital via helicopter in a critical condition.

The road was closed for at least five hours as the serious crash unit carried out their work, a police spokesperson said.

A Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay spokeswoman said the man had by Sunday morning been transferred to Auckland Hospital.

At the time of leaving the Hawke’s Bay Hospital he remained in a critical condition, she said.