Two people are dead and another is in hospital after a car accident near Mungindi, on the New South Wales-Queensland border.

The bodies of a man and a woman have been recovered from the car that crashed into Carwal Creek in the early hours of Sunday.

A third person, a 23-year-old woman, was flown to Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.

She is in a serious but stable condition.

Emergency crews were called to Carwal Creek Bridge, south of the Mungindi township just after 1:15am.

Police were told the SUV was travelling behind another car on Morialta Road when the friends noticed the car was no longer behind them.

The friends backtracked and found the car was submerged in Carwal Creek.

Friends and the owner of a nearby property worked to free those inside the car.

Two women and a man were trapped but, despite the rescuer's best efforts, only one woman was able to be freed.

Police have confirmed the bodies of a man and woman have been removed from the car, which remains in the creek.

Investigations into the crash are continuing and Morialta Road remains closed in both directions.