pope
© Associated Press/Gregorio BorgiaPope Francis meets the media during an airborne press conference on his journey back to Rome from Seoul, South Korea yesterday, Monday, Aug. 18, 2014
The Vatican says a road accident in Argentina has killed two young great-nephews of Pope Francis as well as their mother, the wife of the pope's nephew.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi said the accident occurred Tuesday morning in the area of Cordoba, a major Argentine city. One nephew was 2, the other was 8 months. The age of their mother wasn't immediately available. Lombardi said the nephew survived; local news reports said he was injured. Lombardi didn't have the victims' names.

Lombardi said "the pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is deeply pained." He added the pope asks "all who share in his grief to unite with him in prayer."

Source: Associated Press

Update from Reuters:

Pope Francis was deeply grieved, the Vatican's official broadcasting service said on Tuesday, after the deaths of three relatives killed when their car slammed into the back of a truck on a highway in central Argentina.

A nephew of the pope, Emanuel Bergoglio, who was driving the car was in serious condition following the accident just after midnight on Monday. The nephew's wife, 35, and two children aged 2 years and 8 months died.
pope nephew crash
© Associated PressFirefighters inspect the car of Emanuel Bergoglio, nephew to Pope Francis, which crashed with a truck in James Craik, Argentina, early Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014. Emanuel Bergoglio was seriously wounded as two young great-nephews of Pope Francis as well as their mother, the wife of the pope's nephew, were killed in the crash, according to the Vatican and a local police official
"The pope has been informed and is deeply grieved by the tragic news. He asks all those who share his pain to join with him in prayer," said a statement on the website of Radio Vaticana.

The driver of the grains truck, Raul Pombo, told local television stations he felt the impact and found Bergoglio's vehicle wedged under the rear of his vehicle.

"I began stopping passing cars to ask for their fire extinguishers because the car was on fire," Pombo said.

The region's highway patrol chief, Jorge Rainieri, called the impact "powerful" and television pictures showed the mangled wreckage of the compact car. The accident occurred in Argentina's central Cordoba province.