A minivan carrying nine passengers has crashed into a tree, killing four people and leaving three children in hospital.

Police say the vehicle was travelling along Chapel Road in Muckatah, in northern Victoria near the NSW border, when it crashed about 5pm on Monday.

Four passengers died at the scene. They are yet to be formally identified.

The three children were flown to hospital with serious injuries.

The driver and a passenger were also seriously injured and were taken to hospital by road.

Detectives are travelling to the scene and the circumstances surrounding the crash are yet to be established.