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Women who died after car fell off ferry found embracing

Two women who died on Tuesday after their car rolled off a ferry and sank in Florida were found embracing in the car when it was recovered, according to a report.

Witnesses who spoke to the Miami Herald said the tragedy happened the freak accident occurred when Emma Afra, 63, forgot to put her handbrake on and hit the accelerator by mistake after the car started rolling on the ferry shortly after departure from Fisher Island, America's most expensive island. The car went through a barrier and plunged into the water.

Hours later, divers located the car upside down 50ft below the surface. Afra and her passenger, friend Viviane Brahms, 75, were found embracing in the backseat of the car.

"Other ferries that I've seen have large steel barriers which also form the ramp," maritime lawyer John Hickey told the Miami Herald. "The netting on the Fisher Island ferry is pretty insufficient. It's pretty flimsy. It's not going to hold anything back."