A family of five, including sisters aged eight and three, drowned as they swam in a river on a day out at the beach.

The family were on a day trip to the Tiete River in Dois Corregos, south-eastern Brazil, on 24th December.

But within minutes, five of them had been swept to their deaths, despite having been in water that was just waist-deep.

Jau Fire Department told local media that tragedy struck when one of the children went to a deeper part of the river and began to struggle.

Other family members went over to help the girl, but five tragically ended up drowning.

The dead have been named as mother Cynthia Silva dos Santos, 25, father Kervellin Wallace da Silva, 29, sisters Nicolly Luize Dias da Silva and Emily Camile Dias da Silva, eight and three, and grandmother Denise Aparecida Dias da Silva, 51.

Four bodies were pulled from the water the same day, while dad Kervellin’s body was only found by firefighters a day after the tragedy.

All five were buried in their hometown, Sumare, on 26th December.

Survivor Manoel de Oliveira told local media: “We were playing, waist-deep in the water. We weren’t even one metre, 1.2 metres away from each other.

“Everyone was playing, splashing each other with water. It happened very quickly, everyone went out of sight.

“My wife [Denise] tried to give me her hand and pass me the girl.”

Authorities have registered the case as accidental deaths.