A Maltese couple killed in a horrific traffic accident in Australia on Friday morning were in the country to attend a family wedding.

Maria Dolores, 57, and Laurence Pulis, 60, from Birżebbuġa, were killed instantaneously when the car they were in crashed into a truck.

They were staying with Ms Pulis’s brother who also died in the incident. They were in Sydney to attend Ms Pulis’s nephew’s wedding.

Five people were in the car when it collided with the semi-trailer then crashed into a fence at Bow Bowing, near Campbelltown, about 11.20am on Friday (1.20am Malta time). Ms Pulis’s brother, 74, was driving the car.

A 76-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man who were also in the car were treated on site by paramedics and rushed to hospital by helicopter for treatment.

The injured woman was trapped in the car for 20 minutes with suspected spinal and chest injuries before being freed by the paramedics.

The man was taken to Liverpool Hospital with suspected pelvic and chest injuries. Their condition is believed to be serious but stable, according to the Australian media.

A screengrab from Ten Eyewitness News footage shows the two vehicles involved in the crash in Sydney.

In Australia to attend family wedding

Eleven ambulance units, including two rescue helicopters, arrived at the scene at Campbelltown Road to find a “distressing” incident, the paramedics said.

The driver of the truck, a 59-year-old man, was taken to Campbelltown Hospital for mandatory testing.

The Sydney Morning Herald quoted Campbelltown police duty officer, Inspector Michael Moroney, as saying that officers were investigating the cause of the collision: “It would appear at this stage the truck was not at fault and for some unknown reason the vehicle careered into the path of the truck.

“The car impacted with the side of the truck which has caused the motor vehicle to veer off, colliding with some fences on the neighbouring properties.”

The inspector would not confirm whether the five people in the car were related, but said they were “known to each other”.

Doreen and Lorry, as they were known, left Malta last week.

Contacted by the Times of Malta, neighbours living in their same street in Birżebbuġa described them as a “quiet” couple. They are survived by their only son and three grandchildren.