French motorway crash kills three of British family

Lyon: Three members of a British family, including two children, were killed on Sunday in a crash on a motorway in eastern France, police and firefighters said.

The family's Nissan hit a safety barrier on the A39 motorway around 80 kilometres (50 miles) south of the city of Dijon, jumped over an embankment and hit a bridge pillar before falling back onto the road, according to initial investigations.

The 31-year-old father and two children aged four and 12 were killed on the spot, emergency services said. A third child was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries, while the mother escaped with only minor injuries.

The family's surname was given by the authorities as Crompton, but no further details were immediately available.