'A horrifying shock': Family of Iceland bridge victims speak for first time since two sisters-in-law and a baby girl were killed and successful City worker husbands were injured in car tragedy

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The family of the sisters-in-law and young child who were killed on a bridge in Iceland have spoken of their 'horrifying shock' at the car tragedy. 

Rajshree Laturia, her daughter Shreeprabha - who was not strapped in a car seat - and her sister-in-law Khushboo died when the 4x4 Land Cruiser plunged from a road crossing in the south of the country on Thursday morning. 

The sisters-in-law, Rajshree and Khushboo, were married to two brothers Shreeraj, who was driving, and Supreme. All four adults, British citizens of Indian origin in their 30s, have worked in the City of London.  

The Laturias, named in the UK Asian Power Couples Hot 100 list in 2015 for their expertise in finance and charity work, were on a four-day Christmas holiday together.  

A family statement tonight said: 'The fatal car crash near Skaftafell in Iceland on the morning of December 27, 2018 has come as a horrifying shock for the entire family and friends.

'The Indian, British and Icelandic authorities have been extremely cooperative and extended appropriate support. 'Our family is deeply saddened so we request you to kindly respect our privacy and give us the space to grieve in peace at this difficult time. 

'Special thanks to the local authorities for airlifting and ensuring timely medical facilities were provided. Thank you for your prayers and understanding on this matter.'  

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Khushboo Laturia, pictured right during her wedding to Supreme Laturia, left, was killed in the crash in Iceland yesterday 

Rajshree Laturia, pictured left with her husband Shreeraj (pictured right holding their child Shreeprabha), was killed in the Iceland bridge crash along with her sister-in-law and her daughter during a family holiday 

Pictures have emerged of British woman Rajshree Laturia who was killed in the Icelandic bridge crash. She is shown with her financial trader husband Shreeraj Laturia, who was injured in the crash

Three British tourists including a child were killed after the SUV they were in plunged off a bridge in Iceland yesterday. All of the injured have been transported from the scene in a Coast Guard helicopter (pictured) and taken to a hospital in the capital Reykjavík

Emergency services personnel are pictured at the scene near the crumpled remains of the Toyota Land Cruiser, which was carrying seven people

Witnesses described horrifying scenes at the crash site, where a silver-coloured SUV lay crumpled on its roof beneath the bridge

Tour guide Adolf Erlingsson was among the first on the scene, and said it appeared the car (pictured) had hit the ground several yards from where it stopped 

Pictured is the exterior of the east London home of one of the families caught up in the Icelandic bridge tragedy

The 11-month-old baby, whose father Shreeraj was driving and was injured in the crash, was not in a car seat at the time, Southern Iceland's police chief Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson said today.

Rúnarsson told local media it was not clear why the infant was not in a child seat and that it was difficult to say how much difference using one might have made in this case - but he pointed out that they are known to give children good protection.    

Last night there were claims that the seven-seat SUV was being driven 'wildly' before it crashed through barriers and fell more than 26ft in freezing temperatures nearly two hours before sunrise. There were also claims that some of those in the car were not wearing seat belts.

Spanish au pair Monica Fontam, 20, who was working for both couples in London, told MailOnline this morning: 'I'm still in a terrible state of shock, we all are.  

'I've only been with the family for the last couple of months, and they've welcomed me and treated me as one of their own. They all live here and they're all very close.

'They were all here last night discussing what to do. A family friend is organising everything for them and staying here to see them through this.'  

Shreeraj and wife Rajshree have a nine-year-old daughter who was injured and a baby daughter who was killed in the crash, according to the Indian embassy in Iceland. The embassy said Kushboo and Supreme Laturia have a son aged seven or eight. 

Lopa Patel, who was awarded an MBE in 2009 for services to the Asian community in Britain and knew the family, said: 'This is a terrible tragedy for a lovely family. They are very community minded and support several charities. I am very saddened by this.

Ms Patel, who is behind the UK Asian Power Couples Hot 100 list, included Shreeraj and Rajshree in the compilation in 2015 for their expertise in finance and charity work.

The list reveals Shreeraj has a successful track record in trading and financing and is a trader and portfolio manager working at RBC Capital Markets. He is a graduate of the Science and Technology University of Indian and is a qualified chartered accountant.

In a LinkedIn profile, Shreeraj Laturia is described as Director, Trader at RBC Capital Markets, a financial services firm in London. 

Between 2008 and 2011, he was an Elected Member of The Schools Forum - a statutory government body managing distribution of funds in excess of £200 million per year from the Learning Trust to more than 50 primary and secondary schools in Hackney. He has also served as a School Governor for the De Beauvoir Primary School in Hackney.

Rajshree Laturia qualified in accountancy and worked at Barclays Capital from 2006 - 2009 as Assistant Vice President for its funds linked equity derivatives. She then joined Morgan Stanley as its Vice President in the Valuation Review Group.

In Facebook pictures, Rajshree posted doting family pictures which appear to show they travelled widely to destinations including France, Hungary and India.

Financial trader Shreeraj Laturia (left), believed to be from London, was injured in the crash which left his wife, Rajshree, and daughter Shreeprabha (right with her father) dead

A Coast Guard helicopter transferred the patients to the National Hospital & Emergency Room Fossvogur (pictured) in Reykjavik

A further four Britons - two of them children - were critically injured in the accident, which took place at Skeidararsandur, a vast sand plain in southern Iceland, at around 9.30am (file picture shows the bridge where it is understood the crash happened)

Casualties from yesterday's crash arrive in an emergency helicopter at a hospital in Iceland's capital, Reykjavík

Her husband ran the London marathon this year, raising almost £5,000 for the for Friends Of The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

Afterwards, he thanked his supporters, saying their 'love gave me the energy when none was left.'

'Thank you all my friends for lending me a patient ear as I bored you with my ramblings about training plans, nutrition and injuries. A special thanks to my lovely family for sticking with me through many months of training; I ran out (pun intended) at every hint of the household chores.

He added: 'Onwards and upwards with the adventure that is life!'

His sister-in-law Khushboo Laturia had previously posted a Facebook picture of the O2 arena from across the Thames, along with the caption: 'The view in front of our home.'

A family friend told The Sun that the seven relatives had been 'so excited' ahead of their trip to Iceland.

'They were all so sharp, even the kids. So intelligent. A popular and much loved family by so many people, I still can't believe they are gone and that this has happened,' the friend said. 

The children injured in the crash have been described as 'child geniuses' by the mother of one of their classmates. 

Shreya Zaveri told MailOnline the injured boy is a 'brilliant child', adding: 'I don't know how he's going to handle the loss of his mother. 

'He's a child genius, as is his cousin. 

'They're such a lovely family. It's so sad. 'I haven't been able to tell my daughter... about what's even happened yet.'

Kiran Bhanaut, a friend of Rajshree and Shreeraj Laturia, told Mail Online: 'They were the nicest people you could wish to meet, always smiling and great parents.

'My husband Vijay was head master of a school in East London and Shreeraj became a governor just because he wanted to help the children and said he wanted to give something back to the community.'

Mrs Bhanaut added: 'He raised money for Great Ormond Street Hospital and ran the London Marathon and kicked off the fund raising by making a big donation himself.'

This afternoon, local police confirmed in a statement that two British women and a baby had died after the 4x4 they were in crashed off a bridge.

'The individuals involved in a traffic accident at Nupsvotn yesterday are all British citizens,' the statement said.

'The individuals were two brothers travelling around Iceland with their families. The deceased were two women born in 1979 and 1980 and an infant born in 2018.'

The statement from police in Iceland added: 'The cause of the accident is unknown and under investigation by the police and the investigative committee for transport accidents. It is clear that the car was driven past the cameras at Hvolsvollur early that same morning.

'The car was driven to the east, along the Sudurlandsvegur road, and seems to have turned on the bridge with the result that it went on top of the railing of the bridge, to the right, following it for a short distance and then turned over off the rail and the bridge.

'There, the car fell down on the ground beneath the bridge.' 

Earlier, it was reported that the SUV is said to have overtaken cars at above the 50mph speed limit as it drove towards the single-track bridge. 

Tour guide Adolf Ingi Erlingsson was among the first on the scene in a barren, rocky area of the country known as the 'black desert'. He told The Sun: 'People say they had been overtaken by the Toyota being driven wildly at very high speed.' 

A further four people were critically injured in the accident, in Núpsvötn, south of Vatnajökull glacier at around 9.30am

Mr Erlingsson said four people were outside the car, one of whom was dead. Another three were trapped inside, only one of whom was alive. 

'It was horrible,' he said. 'The car seemed to have hit the ground many meters from where it stopped. We struggled getting everyone out.' 

Mr Erlingsson told local newspaper Frettabladid: 'I was driving when just before I got to the bridge I saw a flashing light and then a police car arrived.

'I went to check to see if I could help, and with the two policemen went into the car to try and pull people out. It was naturally horrific - there was a man with two little children lying on either side of him, who were still conscious. 

'The man thought he was dying and could not move. One of the officers was trying to calm him down, give him a drink, and get him to stay awake.' 

Mr Erlingsson said the driver was stuck under the dashboard. 'He was talking so I told him to save his energy and be quiet,' he said.  

According to the Times, Mr Erlingsson said it appeared that some of the group had not been wearing seatbelts.

He said: 'One of the deceased was a young child, around three years old. At first I thought another child had died, but it was actually a small woman.'  

Police say it remains unclear what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle. Pictured: One of the casualties arrives at hospital in Reykjavík

One of the casualties is wheeled over the tarmac and into the hospital as Coast Guard officers brief medics on the situation 

A police vehicle at a roadblock on Route 1 in Iceland, near the Jokulsarlon glacier lagoon, near where yesterday's incident took place 

Police said the road was not thought to be icy but humidity could have made the surface slippery for the SUV, which was driving eastbound. 

The vehicle slammed through a railing on the 46-year-old, one-lane crossing, before landing on a rocky river bank.

Indian ambassador Armstrong Changsan visited the survivors in hospital and said: 'The situation is very bad. Three people have died and one of them is an infant.

'There were seven people. Two couples in their thirties and three children. The other two children are aged 8 and nine and are a girl and boy. The girl is in surgery.'

He said it was too early to establish the cause of the tragedy, and police had given him no indication of what had happened to cause the vehicle to go off the road.

He added: 'I believe the family had come to Iceland to see the glaciers. There is a popular tourist site there.' 

Changsan, who went to visit some of the survivors in hospital, told the Times of India: 'They are British citizens of Indian origin with families in India. Their brother is in India. He needs an urgent visa to come here. Iceland officials are trying to help out on this.

'Friends of the accident victims have rushed from the UK to Reykjavik. The condition of the survivors is now stable. The British Embassy here is taking care of matters.'

The Times of India said the brother referred to by Changsan was called Sarvesh Laturia. 

He told the newspaper: 'It was my two brothers and their wives - they are British people. They were on vacation in Iceland and their car met with an accident in which my two sister-in-laws passed away, and my niece passed away. My two brothers are in a critical condition in hospital.'

Yesterday, Chief Superintendent Sveinn Kristjan Runarsso said the four injured have been taken to hospital with serious injuries, but added that 'we haven't been able to talk to them about what happened'. 

All of the injured have been transported from the scene in a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to a hospital in the capital Reykjavík. 

A Foreign Office spokesperson said last night: 'We are supporting the family of several British nationals who were involved in a road traffic accident in Iceland and we are in close contact with the Icelandic authorities.' 

The bridge was built in 1973 and is 420 yards long, making it the second-longest in the country. 

Mr Erlingsson said the crash occurred in an area that was 'the most popular destination on the south coast'.

The crash happened just south of Skaftafell National Park, part of the Vatnajokull National Park, which was nominated for inclusion in Unesco's World Heritage List in 2018.

The Vatnajokull glacier is the largest in Europe, covering 8% of Iceland's landmass including the island's tallest peak Hvannadalshnjukur at 2,200 metres tall (7,218ft).

Tourists flock to the area to enjoy hiking, camping and sightseeing flights.

South of the national park is the Skeidararsandur, a vast sand plain formed from alluvial deposits, with little vegetation, with the Nupsvotn glacial lakes on its western boundary.   

The British Foreign Office website urges tourists to monitor the country's road safety and weather websites due to often difficult conditions. 

Officials say 18 people have died on Iceland's roads this year, half of them foreigners.