2 women killed after car plunges off ferry in South Florida

MIAMI, Fla. -- The bodies of two women were discovered in a car that rolled off a ferry into a deep shipping channel off the coast of South Florida.

The women were found in the vehicle that sank Tuesday in Government Cut, news outlets reported. Their family members were notified of the deaths, the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

Miami-Dade police identified the women as Emma Afra, 63, of Miami, and Viviane Brahms, 76, of Harrison, New York.

The car, a blue Mercedes-Benz, was eventually recovered from the from 50-foot-deep channel, Miami-Dade police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta said in a news release sent Wednesday.

The Coast Guard is investigating how the car fell from the ferry, which takes people and cars back and forth from the exclusive Fisher Island. The front and back of the ferry are usually closed by chains during the short trip.