Two Swiss tourists heading to a pilgrimage site in Italy have been killed by a rockfall.

The man and woman from Italian-speaking canton Ticino in southern Switzerland were in their car when the mass of rocks covered the road near the Italian municipality of Re, around seven kilometres from the Swiss border.

The victims, both over 50,according to the ANSA news agency, were reportedly heading to a shrine when the accident occurred on Sunday.

The local mayor complained that the road – used by many Italians commuting to Switzerland – was often the scene of fatal accidents and that it had to be made safe once and for all.