Tourists killed when car bursts into flames after striking metal pipe on Queensland road

A freak accident on a Queensland road ended in a fatal tragedy overnight.

Two people were killed after their BMW was crushed by a two-tonne pipe that fell off the back of a moving truck at about 3am today.

The pair from China were driving a hire car up from Sydney when they hit the lost metal pipe on the Bruce Highway at Gladstone.

Police believe the vehicle caught fire when it hit the pipe, and was still burning when emergency services arrived on scene.

Two bodies were discovered in the car afterwards.

Last week Central Queensland police launched Operation Zero, aiming for a fatality-free December.

The operation is not off to a good start, but Queensland drivers as a whole have been safer in 2014, with 40 fewer deaths on the road compared to this time last year.