AN OXFORDSHIRE couple are among three Britons who have been killed in a horror crash in South Africa.

Chris Naylor, 58, and Susanna Naylor, 54, of West Oxfordshire, died when a car they were travelling in plummeted from a bridge into a river.

Mrs Naylor was head of science at Christ Church Cathedral School in Oxford, and it is understood that the married couple leave behind three grown-up children.

Miranda Harris, 66, from Wiltshire, also died in the crash, while her husband Peter Harris, 67, survived with injuries alongside the driver of the car.

UPDATE: Oxford school 'devastated' after teacher and her husband die in South Africa crash

The collision happened on the Swartkops Bridge near Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Province, on Monday. 

It is thought that the car went off the bridge after it collided with another vehicle on the N2 motorway in Bluewater Bay, on South Africa's southern coast.

The two couples were in the country with Christian charity A Rocha, founded by Mr and Mrs Harris in the early 1980s.

Mr Naylor, executive director of A Rocha International, co-founded A Rocha Lebanon in 1996 with his wife, having both worked as teachers in the Middle East.

Rev Dave Bookless, director of theology at A Rocha, said: "The death of Chris, Miranda and Susanna leaves a huge and irreplaceable hole in our lives and our organisation.

"Our prayers are for Peter's full recovery, along with the driver of the vehicle they were travelling in, and also for the Harris and Naylor families, as well as the hundreds, if not thousands, who consider them as extended family.

"Now is a time for grief, and sharing our treasured memories of some godly people."

Mrs Naylor's own social media profiles state that she is from Burford, and was a former pupil at Henry Box School in Witney.

She studied at Oxford University and Oxford Brookes and taught for several years at a prep school in Gloucestershire, before joining Christ Church Cathedral School in the city centre in September.

A Rocha shared a post on Facebook yesterday stating: "Thank you for your outpouring of love, prayers and words of support following this tragic loss.

"We have created a page on the A Rocha blog for you to share your memories, condolences or other reflections. These will be relayed to the Harris and Naylor families."

One tribute posted on the blog, from A Rocha Lebanon, said Mr and Mrs Naylor lived in Lebanon for 17 years.

It described Mr Naylor as someone who was knowledgeable about birds and 'in love with nature'.

Another tribute posted on the blog said: "Although I did not know them personally, like so many others, I and my family have been profoundly influenced by their life and service."

It has been reported that the couples had been on their way to an airport to fly back to England, at the time of the crash.

The Foreign Office said in a statement: "We are supporting the families of two British couples following a car accident in Port Elizabeth in which three people died and one was left seriously injured.

"Our staff are in contact with the South African authorities."