A mother and her two children, including a 20-month-old boy, have died after a car burst into flames following a crash outside Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital.

The car was fully engulfed by fire on Flemington Road in Parkville on Friday morning as plumes of black smoke poured into the air.

It was approaching Grattan Street when it struck the curb and crashed into a pole outside the hospital about 9.50am.

Police have confirmed two child passengers died at the scene, a 20-month-old boy and an eight-year-old girl.

The female driver, a 35-year-old Cheltenham woman, was also found dead.

Shattered father

The woman had reportedly just dropped two other children at school, and then visited the Royal Children’s Hospital to pick up medication about 10 minutes before the crash.

Detectives from the Major Collisions Unit are investigating the exact cause of the crash, and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

“We haven’t been able to establish what it was that made her lose control of that vehicle, whether there was some distraction in the car at the time,” MCI Detective Senior Sergeant Gerard Clanchy told reporters.

He confirmed the father of the two children, the woman’s husband, had been notified about their deaths.

“He’s distraught, as you would expect in the circumstances,” he said.

An AAP photographer said he was moved away from the scene by a police officer who was concerned it may explode again.

Crisis support services are also being offered to staff or patients who may have witnessed the crash.

-AAP