Nine small children were killed when a sports utility vehicle fell into a canal in central Mexico.

The eight girls and one boy, aged between three and six, were heading to their teacher's house for lunch when the vehicle they were travelling in fell into a canal outside the town of Cardenas in Guanajuato state.

There was no barrier between the road and the canal.

The teacher, who was driving the vehicle, was apparently unharmed and was being questioned by authorities about the accident.