A 79-year-old woman has died in a two-vehicle collision between a van and a car in Lija on Wednesday, a police statement said.

The statement said that the police were informed of a traffic accident in Triq il-Mosta, Lija, at around 10.30am on Wednesday.

Police officers immediately went on site and from preliminary investigations it resulted that a collision had occurred between a Renault Trafic van driven by a 24-year-old man from Mtarfa and a Suzuki Swift car driven by an 81-year-old man residing in Mosta.

The 79-year-old woman, also from Mosta, was a passenger in the Suzuki, the statement said.

Members of the Civil Protection Department, a medical team, and ambulances were called to the scene, and all persons involved were taken to Mater Dei Hospital to receive the necessary medical treatment.

The elderly woman was certified dead a short while later, while the elderly man remains in a serious condition. The condition of the other driver is still pending, it said.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia was informed of the case and has appointed an inquiry, while police investigations are ongoing.