Three teenagers were killed when their car, traveling on a road in southern France, went through a wall and crashed into a private pool.
The car was the size of a swimming pool and the teenagers – aged 14, 15 and 19 – did not open the doors and drowned.
The freak accident happened in the town of Alès in the early hours of Wednesday.
“True thrill of terror,” said the public prosecution of Abdelkrim grini. “It wasn’t the effect of the accident that killed them. They found themselves alone in the water, unable to get out. They had no chance.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the youngest of the three victims was at the wheel of the car at the time.
The accident, which occurred during a night of heavy rain, was the result of an “unbelievable series of circumstances,” the prosecution told AFP News Agency.
The prosecutor described how the car flowed at a low level in the wild garden, passed and reached all four wheels in the air “.
It wasn’t long before the alarm was raised and firefighters were called to drain the pool and remove the car. BFMTV reported that the pool was about 1.5m (5ft) deep.
A mulip car was towed away by a fire truck in the morning and video from the scene showed the private swimming pool next to the wall.
Canisters of nitrous oxide were found in the car, according to French reports. The substance is used by recreational users as it makes people feel relaxed, light-headed or intoxicated.
An investigation has been opened into the cause of death. The three bodies of the victims recovered were taken to the forensic institute in Nîmes for post-mortem examinations, AFP said.