Three people died when a pickup truck plunged into the sea in Padang, Indonesia while trying to avoid a collision with another vehicle.

The incident in West Sumatra province happened on Sunday 29 May. Two other passengers in the pickup survived.

Footage showed search and rescue officers lifting the vehicle from the sea.

Octavianto, the head of the operational section of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas Padang) said the car carried five passengers, two in front and three in the back. Like many Indonesians, Octavianto goes by one name.

"The driver and the front passenger are safe. Three others sitting in the back who were previously missing have been found dead after several hours of searching," Octavianto said.

The driver who survived told officers the incident happened when he swerved to avoid an accident with another car coming from the opposite direction.

"The pickup truck almost collided with another car, so the driver turned to the right and plunged into the sea," Octavianto said.

The process of removing the vehicle and victims brought traffic to a standstill.

Freight car plunged into the sea after avoiding a collision with another car in Indonesia, three of the five passengers died.

Footage filmed in Padang, West Sumatra province on Sunday (May 29), shows officers evacuating a car from the sea.

Head of the Operational Section of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas Padang), Octavianto said the car carried 5 passengers, 2 in front and 3 sitting in the back.

"Driver and the front desk attendant are safe. Three others sitting in the back who were previously missing have been found dead after several hours of searching," Octavianto said.

The driver who survived told officers the incident began when he avoided an accident with another car from the opposite direction.

"Freight car almost collided with another car, so the driver turned to the right and plunged into the sea," Octavianto added, as the driver said.

The process of evacuating cars and victims brought traffic to a complete standstill, meanwhile, all of the victims were taken to the hospital.