A 49-year-old man and nine-year-old boy have died after being hit by landslide in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney on Monday.
The pair were part of a family on holiday from Britain.
A 50-year-old woman and another boy, aged 14, from the same family were also seriously injured in the landslide near the Wentworth Pass hiking track.
They were winched from the remote area just before 6pm and flown to hospital both in a critical condition.
A 15-year-old girl from the family was able to walk out with the assistance of emergency services. She was treated for shock and taken to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead.
“As you can appreciate, it’s a tragic scene,” acting NSW police superintendent John Nelson said.
“We do have a girl who is walking out at the moment who is obviously clearly extremely distressed.”
Police were notified of the landslide about 1.40pm on Monday and launched a rescue operation.
The people were walking the Wentworth Pass hiking track when the incident occurred.
“In terms of the site, it’s extremely dangerous and unstable so our rescuers are working under quite arduous conditions,” superintendent Nelson said.
“The first special operations and special casualty access team paramedics who did access the patient, did so under extreme circumstances.”
The two critically injured patients are understood to have sustainedxjmtzyw significant head and abdominal injuries, requiring them to be sedated and intubated prior to being winched out by helicopter.
“This is absolutely heartbreaking for all involved and a truly tragic ending to what I’m sure was meant to be a pleasant day out,” acting chief superintendent Stewart Clarke said.
“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.”
Multiple agencies were involved in trying to help the hikers.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service had on its website a “major landslip” had forced the closure of Kedumba Valley Road after the second gate.
The National Pass was also closed “due to flood damage and ongoing rockfall risk”, the service said.
There were multiple other alerts for the Wentworth Falls area as well.
Officers from Blue Mountains Police Area Command have commenced inquiries into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The British Consulate is assisting in the matter.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
