The deaths of three people in an afternoon-school crash has rocked the small Auckland town of Waiuku

Police say adult and two children died, when their vehicle veered of the road into a body of water, on Masters Road, yesterday afternoon.

They say all three people inside died at the scene.

Franklin Local Board member Gary Holmes says Waiuku is a closely connected town - which will be hit hard by this tragedy.

He says Waiuku's fire brigade - made up of volunteers and locals - responded to the incident and will have been impacted by it.