A 12-YEAR-OLD girl was killed when the car in which she was a passenger overturned.

The car, driven by her father, was travelling on the London-bound carriageway of the M2 when tragedy struck.

The accident happened between junctions three for Chatham and two for Rochester at about 11.45pm on Friday.

The girl, who lived in Whitstable, is also believed to have been travelling with her brother and sister in the Citroen car.

Firefighters were called to the scene and found the driver and girl, who was a front seat passenger, trapped in the vehicle.

The crew from Strood fire station cut off the roof to reach them but discovered the girl had already died. Her brother, 15, and sister, 21, had managed to escape the car suffering only minor injuries. The girl’s father, 44, suffered chest injuries.

The carriageway was closed to traffic for just over five hours and re-opened at 5am on Saturday.

A spokesman for Kent Police said: “Police were called to a one vehicle road traffic crash.

“As a result of the accident the girl in the front passenger seat died of her injuries.”