A family vacation in Kazakhstan ended in tragedy after two young sisters, aged 8 and 12, died when the car they were sitting in rolled into a flooded quarry near Astana.

The incident occurred at a flooded quarry in the Tselinograd District of the Akmola Region, near the village of Kyzylzhar, The Caspian Post reports via Orda.kz.

Preliminary information indicates that the family had arrived at the site on July 11 for an overnight leisure. The following morning, after swimming, the two girls got into the parked vehicle to change into dry clothes. Moments later, the car unexpectedly began rolling downhill and plunged into the water.

Their father rushed to rescue the children but was unable to open the doors or break the windows before the vehicle quickly sank beneath the surface.

Emergency response teams from the Akmola Region and Astana recovered the submerged vehicle during a rescue operation. The bodies of both girls were found inside the car, the regional Emergency Situations Department said.

Police have launched an investigation to determine what caused the vehicle to move and to establish the full circumstances surrounding the fatal accident.