Bodies of British father and son killed after Australia landslide recovered
The bodies of a British father and his nine-year-old son killed in a landslide in Australia's Blue Mountains while on holiday have been recovered, police confirmed.
Five members of the same family, on holiday from the UK, were caught in the major landslip while trekking through Wentworth Pass, west of Sydney, on Monday afternoon.
The mother and another son are in a critical condition in hospital after being winched into a rescue helicopter.
A fifth member of the same family, an "extremely distressed" 15-year-old girl, is being treated for shock.
The 49-year-old father and his young son died at the scene at Wentworth Pass in the Blue Mountains, some 100 miles west of Sydney, New South Wales police said. Their bodies were winched out by PolAir at around 9.30am on Tuesday.
The 50-year-old woman and 14-year-old boy are in a critical condition at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, having suffered significant head and abdominal injuries. Paramedics walked the girl from the scene of the landslide.
"It's quite a tragic scene, we do have a girl that is walking out at the moment who is obviously extremely distressed and we're trying to talk to her in relation to obtain further information," Acting Superintendent John Nelson, of New South Wales State Police, told the media.
The incident on the walking track was reported to emergency services at around 1.40pm local time on Monday.
The New South Wales Department of Environment and Heritage later announced the area was now closed to the public until further notice and a “comprehensive review” would be undertaken.
“(New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service) has a world class programme in place to assess geotechnical risks and maintain the safety of walking tracks and other infrastructure to the greatest extent practicable,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately it is not possible to predict and eliminate all natural risks such as rockslides, which can occasionally occur around the state.”
The Department added the walking track was inspected in the days before the rockslide as part of a routine track assessment programme. It was judged to be safe.
Acting chief superintendent Stewart Clarke from New South Wales state ambulance service said the incident happened in an “extremely dangerous, extremely unstable environment”.
He added the woman and boy required "sedation and intubation prior to them being extricated by a winch".
“It is terribly sad to have lost two lives here today and my heart goes out to the families and the survivors of this horrific ordeal who have witnessed what is certainly a traumatic event", Mr Clarke said, describing the situation as “heartbreaking”.
"We got ambulance chaplains and peer support officers here to support our people as well as the other rescue services because of, again, the nature of incident, it's quite distressing", he added.
A British High Commission spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple and their children following an incident in the Blue Mountains.
“Our staff in Australia are in contact with local police.”
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