Six members of a single family have drowned after their van was washed away by flood waters in Texas as they tried to escape to safety.

Manuel and Belia Saldivar, who were both aged in their 80s and suffering from Alzheimer's, were drowned inside the vehicle.

Four of their grandchildren, aged between 16 and six also died after becoming trapped in the back.

Only the elderly couple's son Sammy, 56, who was driving, was able to escape by wriggling through a window and clinging to a branch for his life.

He tried desperately to rescue his family members - but the strength of the moving waters meant he could only watch as the van sank.

The family's losses are among the heaviest of the storm, which has claimed a total of at least 41 lives.

The group had been heading to the home of Sammy's brother Ric to shelter out the storm when they were washed away.

Ric, 53, said his brother was full of guilt at not being able to do more.