A mother and her two children died after the car they were travelling in skidded and plunged into a river.

The incident happened at kilometre 70.5 Jalan Kota Bharu-Machang-Jeli at Kampung Panglima Bayu at 12:48 pm on Monday.

According to the Head of Traffic and Public Order of the Tanah Merah police traffic headquarters, Inspector Zamri Mustafa, the deceased were identified as Suzilawati Nor Hussin, 39, Irfan Qayyum Ubaidullah Azmi, 12, and Iqbal Hariz Putra Ubaidullah, 5.

The family of three was reportedly on their way from Jeli to Tanah Merah when the car crashed into Sungai Panglima Bayu.

The victims were trapped in the vehicle and was believed to have drowned. The bodies were sent to the Tanah Merah Hospital for autopsy.