BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Three relatives of Pope Francis died and a fourth was in serious condition Tuesday after their car crashed on a provincial highway in Argentina, the Vatican and local officials said.

The small car carrying a nephew of the pope along with the man's wife and two young children slammed into the back of a truck, Highway Police Superintendent Jorge Raineri said. The crash killed the wife and children, one 2 years old and the other 8 months.

The passenger side of the car was smashed and crumpled beneath the cargo truck.

Emanuel Bergoglio, the 38-year-old son of a brother of Pope Francis, was hospitalized. He suffered extensive injuries and was in serious condition in the hours after the pre-dawn crash, Ignacio Bruno, an assistant director of the hospital in the town of Villa Maria, told Todo Noticias television.

The man's 36-year-old wife, Valeria Carmona, and youngest child, Jose, died in the accident. Two-year-old Antonio died at the hospital, Bruno said.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said: “The pope was informed about the tragic accident. He is profoundly saddened.” He added that the pope asks “all who share in his grief to unite with him in prayer.”

TOKYO — Rain-sodden slopes collapsed in torrents of mud, rock and debris early Wednesday in the outskirts of Hiroshima, killing at least 10 people and leaving 22 missing, the government said.Video footage from the national broadcaster NHK showed rescue workers suspended by ropes from police helicopters pulling victims from the rubble. Others gingerly climbed into windows as they searched for survivors in crushed homes.Hillsides caved in or were swept down into residential areas in at least five valleys in the suburbs of the western Japanese city after heavy rains left slopes unstable.The Fire and Disaster Management Agency, citing the local government, said 10 people were confirmed dead and another 22 were missing as of mid-afternoon. It said 19 people were injured, two seriously.