Manila, Dec 11 (IANS): Eight passengers, including a five-year-old girl, died in Rizal province of the Philippines after a flash flood swept a passenger car.

Patrolman Jason Benitez of the Tanay town police told Xinhua that the accident happened before 9 p.m. local time on Saturday, while the jeepney carrying 25 passengers was crossing a river travelling north to a village from the town.

Norberto Francisco Matienzo, chief of the Tanay Municipal Disaster Reduction Management Office, said the jeepney got stuck in the middle of the river when it was swept away by a flash flood, Xinhua News Agency reported.

He added that seven others who died from the accident were over 60 years old while another one was injured.

The elongated, flatbed passenger jeepneys are the most popular mode of public transport in the Philippines. These iconic vehicles have been plying on the streets of the Philippines since World War II.

However, many accidents in the Southeast Asian country are blamed on these poorly maintained vehicles made up of second-hand car parts.