A 23-year-old woman died after her car crashed into a tanker truck in the early morning hours on Friday, which led to a five-hour road closure.

Elisavet Spanou from Nicosia was driving at around 3.50am with a 20-year-old woman as a passenger towards Tseri avenue.

Under conditions that are being investigated, she lost control of the car and crashed into the guardrail.

Then, the car entered the opposite lane of traffic before colliding with the tanker.

The two women were trapped in their vehicle and required the intervention of fire service to extricate them.

They were transported via ambulance to Nicosia general hospital where doctors pronounced the older woman dead on arrival.

The 20-year-old was kept for further treatment. Her condition is described as serious.

The Tseri-Halepianes road was closed for about five hours after the accident and was reopened a few minutes before 9am.

Police urged anyone who knows anything in relation to the circumstances of the fatal accident to contact Nicosia Traffic Police or the nearest Police Station.