The accident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. on Thursday local time on a highway near the city of Rio Pardo, when a car carrying six people crashed into the back of another vehicle, causing both to collide head-on with a truck, the local fire department was quoted as saying.

The people who died were in the same car, while the drivers of the other vehicle and truck survived the accident, the report said.

The city of Rio Pardo is located some 140 kilometers from Porto Alegre, capital of the Rio Grande do Sul state, in the southern region of the South American country.