THE Icelandic bridge where a British family died in a horror crash does NOT meet modern safety standards, experts have claimed.

Rajshree Laturia and her ten-month-old baby Shreeprabha where killed when their 4x4 plunged from the Núpsvötn bridge.

Rajshree's sister-in-law Khushi also died in the holiday tragedy, which happened at around 10am on Thursday.

An investigation has been launched into why the family's Toyota Land Cruiser smashed through a railing - with a safety expert claiming the crossing was not fit for purpose.

Ólafur Guðmundsson told Icelandic media that steel barriers on either side of the bridge did not meet safety standards and the steel mesh laid over the wooden surface is often slippery when wet.

He also explained that speed limit signs were hard to see, the Reykjavik Grapevine reports.

The single-lane Núpsvötn bridge was opened in 1973 but has been the scene of 14 accidents since 2000 – two of them serious.

Gudmundur Valur Gudmundsson, design director at the Iceland Road Administration, said the tragedy will act as a catalyst for change.

He told Icelandic publication, Visir: “Single-lane bridges can invite accidents, and as such it is the goal of our transportation plans to get rid of them altogether.”

Gudmundur added that an increase in tourism has added to the problems on Iceland’s roads.

Local police have said that baby Shreeprabha was not strapped into a car seat during the crash which left her dad, his brother Supreme and two other children badly injured.

Southern Iceland's police chief Sveinn Kristján Rúnarsson told local media that it is not clear why the child was wearing a seat belt.

The group consisted of two brothers and their wives - Rajshree and her husband Shreeraj and Khushi and her husband Supreme.

All were aged in their 30s and work for different banks as chartered accountants in Canary Wharf.

Rajshree and Shreeraj were named in the UK Asian Power Couples Hot 100 list in 2015 as recognition for their expertise in finance and charity work.

Yesterday a family friend told of her shock when she heard about the crash, which happened when the family's Toyota Land Cruiser smashed through a railing.

She said: “It’s terrible, we were together a few days before Christmas and they were getting ready for the trip, they were all so excited to go. It was a Christmas sightseeing holiday, their first with all the children.

“When my husband and I heard about the crash we were shocked, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer family.

“They were all so sharp, even the kids. So intelligent. A popular and much loved family by so many people, I still can’t believe they are gone and that this has happened.”

Earlier the devastated brother of the Iceland bridge crash victims confirmed the heartbreaking loss of three members of his family.

Speaking to the Times of India, Sarvesh Laturia revealed the extent of his family's loss saying: "It was my two brothers and their wives - they are British people.

"They were on vacation and their car met with an accident in which my two sister-in-laws passed away, and my niece passed away.

"My two brothers are in a critical condition in hospital."

A boy and girl, aged seven and eight, were also seriously injured after the hired Toyota plummeted from the bridge.

The 4x4 is said to have been driven "wildly" while overtaking cars at more than the 50mph as it approached the single-track bridge over a gorge.

Tour guide Adolf Ingi Erlingsson came across the Toyota on its side in a crumpled heap on a river bank.

He told The Sun: “People say they had been overtaken by the Toyota being driven wildly at very high speed.”

The guide, who helped cops treat the injured, added: “It was horrible.”

He said it was around freezing when the crash happened but there was no ice.

Cops said humidity may have made the metal surface of the bridge near Skaftafell in the mountainous south-east slippy.

The Indian Embassy in Reykjavik said two families were involved - both of which are believed to be from the London area.

Tour guide Adolf told Icelandic radio station Bylgjan: "The driver was alive and trapped more or less under the dashboard. I couldn't see his face.

"We were trying to get the people out of the car and helping them. It was a very difficult situation."

He added: "I tried to talk a bit to the driver to calm him down.

"He was trapped inside the car."

Describing the crash, he said: "The car was totally smashed up after flying off the bridge and plunging down there.

"When I arrived four had been retrieved from the vehicle, one was dead and three still stuck in the car, two of them probably dead.

"The car seemed to have hit the ground many metres from where it stopped.

"We struggled getting everyone out."

He said he spoke to some people who were "semi-conscious" outside the vehicle.

The tour guide described rescue workers arriving at the scene and starting to cut the driver out of the vehicle.

He said: "We had turned the car over a bit.

"Soon after I arrived we had an SUV with a winch and we used it to lift the car up a little bit to alleviate the pressure on the driver and to try and get him out."

"It was a horrible sight to come there and see the wreckage and people there."

Police say it remains unclear what caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.

But temperatures were around freezing at the time of the accident, which happened hours before the North Atlantic island saw sunrise at nearly 11.30am.

Chief Superintendent of south Iceland Police Sveinn Kristjan Runarsso said the four survivors have been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

He added that "we haven't been able to talk to them about what happened".

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of several British nationals who were involved in a road traffic accident in Iceland and are in close contact with the Icelandic authorities.”

The 1,377ft bridge over Núpsvötn was built in 1973 and is the second-longest bridge in the country, according to Visir.

It is said to have been the scene of a number of accidents in recent years and is reportedly expected to be replaced soon with a shorter bridge around a quarter of the length.