A man and a boy are dead after a tree fell onto their car in the Dandenong Ranges, in Melbourne’s outer east.

The 46-year-old man and 10-year-old boy were travelling along Monbulk Road in Sherbrooke when their vehicle was crushed by a falling gum tree shortly after 5.30pm on Sunday.

The pair, who are believed to be from Cockatoo, died at the scene.

They are both yet to be formally identified.

Knox Highway Patrol officers spent several hours at the scene on Sunday night.

A single bouquet of flowers marked the scene on Monday morning.

Almost 30 millimetres of rain has fallen in the Dandenong Ranges in the past 24 hours.

Investigators will examine whether wet weather played a part in the deaths.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.