AFP

Rio de Janeiro officials confirmed ten deaths, five of them children. Brazilian outlets report that a baby was among those killed.

Ten people died when a car went into a lake in a rural part of Barra Mansa, a municipality in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

The crash occurred in the early hours of Sunday. A passer-by spotted the vehicle under the water and alerted the authorities.

"The victims were already dead when they were removed from the vehicle," the Rio de Janeiro state government said in a statement cited by AFP.

Rio authorities offered their condolences on social media and confirmed that the dead included five adults and five children.

Some Brazilian media reported that a baby girl was among the victims. The identities of the dead have not been confirmed.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene. Firefighters, working with two divers, recovered the bodies from the submerged car.

Local officials have treated the incident as an accident. Police are investigating what happened.

According to the outlet G1, which spoke to a relative, everyone in the car belonged to the same family.

Heavy rain hit the Rio de Janeiro region on Saturday, flooding streets in several areas, including tourist spots such as Copacabana.

Source: euronews.com