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Six girls or young women were killed on a Tennessee highway after the vehicle they were in crashed on Sunday and flipped upside down.

Officials say the ages of the victims range from one to 18 years old.

Two adults, a man and a woman, were also inside the vehicle and suffered injuries, with the woman in critical condition.

It was not immediately clear if any of the victims are related, or what the cause of the crash was.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol said it is investigating the crash.

Emergency responders in Tennessee said they responded to the incident at 01:58 local time (06:58 GMT) on Sunday on Interstate 24 in Robertson County, north of Nashville.

They arrived to find a car that was flipped upside down "with very extensive damage," Robertson County Emergency Medical Services said in a statement.

The victims of the crash were found outside the car and are believed to have been ejected, officials said.

The driver, an adult male, suffered minor injuries, and one adult woman was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries. The other six victims "were pronounced as deceased with injuries that could not be resuscitated", emergency responders said.

Only one other vehicle was involved in the crash, officials said, adding that the driver of the second vehicle "had no complaint of injury."

"Our office recognizes the incredible difficulty of this scene," Robertson County emergency responders said. "Please keep the families and persons involved in your thoughts and prayers."