Buenos Aires: Three relatives of Pope Francis, two great nephews and their mother, have been killed in a traffic accident in Argentina, police said.

The dead include a baby of eight months and a two-year-old toddler, police commissioner Carina Ferreyra said. Their father, the Pope's nephew Horacio Bergoglio, is in serious condition, she told AFP.

The accident happened after midnight in the central province of Cordoba when the family was traveling on a highway.

For reasons that are under investigation the car hit a truck from behind.