This happy family seen smiling in this picture as they get ready to celebrate Christmas have been killed together with their one-year-old daughter when they were hit by a lorry.

The incident took place on the SC-335 state road in the municipality of Fraiburgo in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

Firemen were dispatched to the scene, but they were only able to attest to the family members’ deaths when they arrived at the crash site.

According to the fire brigade, the three people who lost their lives were travelling in the same car, a Fiat Uno with number plates from the municipality of Videira, also in Santa Catarina.

The Military Road Police (Brazil’s traffic police force) did not reveal the nature of the crash. However, the completely mangled wreckage of the car suggests it was a head-on collision.

The victims were identified as 22-year-old driver Andre Felipe Chaves, 19-year-old Jaqueline Correa de Campos, and Julia Gabrielly Chaves de Campos, aged one year and nine months.

The family lived in the community of Faxinal dos Domingues in Fraiburgo.

A 45-year-old man was behind the wheel of the lorry with number plates from Ibiam, also in Santa Catarina, and he was not visibly injured, according to the fire brigade.

Following the incident, friends and family took to social media to pay tribute to the deceased.

It was not reported if anyone faces charges over the incident.