Holiday ends in tragedy as father and son, 5, drown at popular tourist spot
A family holiday has ended in tragedy after a five-year-old boy and his father drowned at a popular swimming spot in Queensland’s north.
The boy and his 30-year-old father were reportedly enjoying the beachside lagoon at Airlie Beach in the Whitsundays region on Sunday afternoon when they found themselves in trouble.
A witness, who had been sitting next to the boy’s mother, told The Courier Mail that the boy plunged straight to the bottom of the lagoon after jumping in.
“They were swimming in the shallow end … the little boy started pointing to the other side of the bridge and ran over, and the older man jumped back in the water and started swimming towards (him),” she told The Courier Mail.
“It seriously happened so, so quick. The little boy would have jumped in right away and went straight to the bottom, he was wearing a full body suit and it took (the father) a bit to get under the bridge.”
A spokesperson for NSW ambulance told Yahoo7 News they attempted CPR before they were both rushed to Proserpine Hospital. They were pronounced dead a short time later.
The lagoon remains closed until further notice.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
