By Nathan Williams
BBC News
Two people have died after becoming trapped in their car in a flooded road in Liverpool.
Police said they were called to Queens Drive in the Mossley Hill area at 21:00 BST on Saturday night.
Passers-by fought to help the man and woman who were stuck inside a black Mercedes in deep floodwater.
Emergency workers took them to hospital, but they were pronounced dead.
Amateur footage filmed in the area appears to show water gushing onto the road – which dips under a bridge.
Met Office data shows heavy rainfall at over 32mm (1.25 inches) an hour near where the incident happened.
Flood alerts and warnings remain in place for areas of Merseyside due to the heavy rainfall.
Det Ch Insp Mike Dalton said: “Our thoughts go out to the family of the man and woman who sadly lost their lives in this tragic incident, despite the best efforts of passing members of the public, our officers and Merseyside Fire and Rescue Services at the scene.
“We are at the early stages of an ongoing investigation on Queens Drive to establish the circumstances of this tragic incident.
“Road closures remain in the area as we continue with this investigation and motorists are advised to avoid the road.”
Image source, Jason Roberts photography
He added that police are continuing to appeal to anyone who was on Queens Drive at around 21:00 BST and saw the incident or stopped to try and help.
A file has been passed to the coroner who has asked Merseyside Police to further investigate the incident.
People living in the area told the Liverpool Echo that the road has been problematic for some time. They said that several cars have become stuck in deep water in the area over the last few months.
Rebecca Wilson, who was in a taxi on Queens Drive around 21:00 BST, told the Echo she thought the flooding might have been caused by a burst pipe.
She described her experience as “terrifying”, saying the water was “gushing down like waterfall” and that it looked like a burst dam.
