Hawkesbury River fall: ‘Eleven’ kids on board tragic Dangar Island boat, police sources claim

Little girl, three, who fell from a boat and drowned was one of ‘eleven kids on board under the supervision of just two adults’ when tragedy struck

  • Three-year-old girl drowned after she fell out of boat on Hawkesbury River 
  • She was found a short time later in waters off Dangar Island north of Sydney
  • She was airlifted to hospital, where she was pronounced dead after arrival
  • Ku-ring-gai Police and Marine Area Command has launched investigation

A three-year-old girl who drowned after she fell from a yacht was one of eleven kids on board under the supervision of two adults, multiple police sources said. 

The little girl, who witnesses said was blonde and wearing a red dress, was found floating face-down in the Hawkesbury River on Tuesday.   

The occupants of the boat noticed she was missing from the vessel, south of Dangar Island, about 12.45pm.   

Water police performed CPR and paramedics took over resuscitation efforts at a nearby boat ramp.   

Paramedics stabilised the critically injured girl at a ramp before she was rushed to hospital

The girl was airlifted to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, where she died a short time later

The girl was airlifted to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, where she died a short time later

Geoff Gauslaa, whose Brooklyn Barges boat was moored nearby, watched on helplessly as emergency workers tried to save the girl on the wharf. 

‘We were in at the wharf there at Mooney when the cops came in with a little girl, and then they unloaded the little girl onto the wharf,’ Mr Gauslaa told Daily Mail Australia.

Mr Gauslaa described her the child as a ‘little while girl with blondish hair and a bright red dress on’. 

The barge worker said the girl appeared to still be alive when officers tried to resuscitate her. 

‘I actually thought at one stage when they had her on the wharf, the kid actually moved.

‘She was still alive I think, I don’t know. 

‘You couldn’t just stand and watch it, it was pretty horrific.’  

The girl was airlifted to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead in a critical condition. She died a short time later. 

The tragic drowning occurred in waters off Dangar Island, north of Sydney on Tuesday

The tragic drowning occurred in waters off Dangar Island, north of Sydney on Tuesday

NSW Ambulance acting Central Coast zone manager Sue Dorahy said paramedics were met with ‘a chaotic scene’. 

‘The child was not breathing,’ Ms Dorahy told Nine News. 

‘Our paramedics did an exceptional resuscitation effort on the child, worked extensively for a number of minutes and the helicopter arrived. 

‘These scenes are always very, very confronting when it involves children and any water-based job that does involve a child is always very chaotic.’ 

Locals believed the boat was a yacht and Seven News reported it was about 25ft long.  

Paramedics worked desperately to revive the three-year-old girl, who later died in hospital

Paramedics worked desperately to revive the three-year-old girl, who later died in hospital

A NSW Police spokeswoman could not officially confirm the number of children on board as of Wednesday afternoon. 

Previous reports had claimed there at least eight children on board the boat at the time. 

The police spokeswoman said interstate family members of the girl were still being briefed about the incident.   

An investigation has been launched and a report will be prepared for the Coroner. 



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