British father and nine-year-old son killed in landslide while on holiday in Australia

A British father and his nine-year-old son have died after five members of the same family were caught up in a landslide while holidaying in Australia.

The family had been trekking through Wentworth Pass in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney before the major landslip.

Both the boy and his 49-year-old father died at the scene.

A 50-year-old woman and a 14-year-old boy were taken to hospital, New South Wales police said.

It is understood that they were both in critical conditions with significant head and abdominal injuries following the incident on the walking track, which was reported to emergency services at around 1.40pm local time on Monday.

A fifth member of the same family, a 15-year-old girl, was treated for shock.

Police said the group are British nationals who were holidaying in Australia.

Acting Superintendent John Nelson said: “Unfortunately there’s been a land slip while they’ve been bushwalking.

“It’s quite a tragic scene.”

He described the 15-year-old girl as “extremely distressed”.

Stewart Clarke, from NSW Ambulance, said the incident happened in an “extremely dangerous, extremely unstable environment”.

He added the situation is “heart-breaking”.