Ten people, including five children, died on Saturday evening after their car plunged into a lake in Barra Mansa, a municipality roughly 85 miles (about 137 kilometres) from the city of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro state. The victims were all from one family, from the nearby city of Volta Redonda, according to reports citing Brazilian outlet g1.

Source: News Central TV / Reuters

A team of around 30 firefighters and two divers recovered the victims from the submerged vehicle. In an official statement, the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro confirmed that all ten occupants were already dead when rescuers reached them inside the car.

Source: News Central TV / Reuters

According to g1, the vehicle overturned and fell into the lake in the Quatis area of Barra Mansa, between Saturday night and Sunday morning, and the bodies were sent to the Forensic Medical Institute. Children, including a baby, were among the victims. The reports did not publish the victims' names.

Source: g1 via O Povo

Storms across Rio state

The incident occurred during a period of intense weather across the region. Downpours hit the broader Rio area on Saturday, causing widespread street flooding that reached major tourist districts such as Copacabana.

Source: News Central TV / Reuters

Local authorities are treating the event as an accident, and the Civil Police have opened an investigation to establish the exact circumstances leading up to the crash. According to g1, the stretch of road where the car fell has no public lighting, and no visible security cameras were identified nearby.

Source: News Central TV / Reuters

What happens next

The police investigation will now establish how the car left the road and ended up in the lake, including whether the weather, the road or the vehicle played a part. No official finding has been announced, and no cause has been confirmed.

Source: News Central TV / Reuters