Three French teens drown after car crashes upside down in swimming pool

Three teenagers were killed when their car skidded off the road in southern France, went through a wall and crashed upside down in a private pool, trapping them inside.

The vehicle was a similar size to the pool and the teenagers - aged 14, 15 and 19 - were unable to open the doors and drowned.

The freak accident occurred in the town of Alès in the early hours of Wednesday.

"It's truly the height of horror," said public prosecutor Abdelkrim Grini. "It wasn't the impact of the accident that killed them. They found themselves upside down in icy water, unable to get out. They had no chance."

Unconfirmed reports suggest the youngest of the three victims was at the wheel of the car at the time.

The accident, which happened during a night of heavy rain, was the result of an "unbelievable series of circumstances," the prosecutor told AFP news agency.

The prosecutor described how the car had smashed through a low-level garden wall, flipped over and landed "with all four wheels in the air".

It was not for several hours that the alarm was raised and firefighters were called to drain the pool and remove the vehicle. BFMTV reported that the pool was about 1.5m (5ft) deep.

A mangled car was pulled on to a firefighters' truck during the morning and video from the scene showed the private swimming pool next to the collapsed wall.

Canisters of nitrous oxide were found in the car, according to French reports. The substance is used by recreational users as it can make people feel relaxed, light-headed or dizzy.

An investigation has been opened into the cause of death. The three victims' bodies have been taken to the forensic institute in Nîmes for post mortem examinations, AFP said.