Two British tourists have died in a landslide in Australia.

The landslide hit a family of five on Monday on a popular hiking trail in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, police said on Tuesday.

The father and a nine-year-old son died, the mother and a 14-year-old son were critically injured.

Rescue workers took the mother and the 14-year-old to a hospital in Sydney on Monday evening.

Both were operated on, but were still in mortal danger on Tuesday.

A 15-year-old daughter of the family was not injured and was brought to safety by rescue workers.

She is now supported by the British consulate and social services.

The police in the Blue Mountains began investigations into the cause of the landslide, and the two dead are also to be examined by a forensic scientist.

In Sydney, heavy rain had flooded several suburbs in the west of the city in the past few weeks.