Child fighting for life, two dead in separate Victorian water tragedies
TWO police officers have miraculously revived a baby pulled lifeless from a river in Victoria’s northeast by performing resuscitation for almost an hour.
The baby, 1, whose family was camping on the banks of the Ovens River at Harrietville, wandered off and fell into the waterway about 11.45am.
Bright Senior Sergeant Doug Incoll said the girl was pulled lifeless from the river by her aunty after a frantic search.
Sen-Sergeant Incoll said the two closest ambulances were dealing with a cardiac arrest and snake bite so paramedics had to travel about an hour from Wangaratta to help the girl.
Two police officers, Leading Senior Constables Jason Hewitt and Paul Doswell, rotated CPR for about 50 minutes and used a defibrillator from a local hotel to revive the youngster.
“It’s unbelievable,” Sen-Sergeant Incoll said.
“It is a remarkable effort by the two members.
“It is part of a policeman’s lot but when it comes to infants and children it is always a little bit harder.”
The girl was flown by air ambulance to the Royal Children’s Hospital where she remains in a serious condition.
An Ambulance Victoria spokesman said the girl also suffered a head injury.
Sen-Sergeant Incoll said the incident was a “stark reminder” about how dangerous waterways could be, particularly for young children.
“Fingers crossed it turns out all well and good but it could have easily gone the other way,” he said.
“If it wasn’t for the two members performing CPR for that length of time she might not have regained life at all.
“With summer coming up, the prevalence of families and children being near water is going to increase markedly so we just need to be a lot more cognisant of their location at all times.
“We can’t take anything for granted because it doesn’t take very long, particularly for an infant to be attracted to water and then overwhelmed by it.”
Sen-Sergeant Incoll said he would nominate the officers, as well as members of the public who assisted, for a commendation for their efforts.
In Melbourne, a man drowned at Blackburn Lake, on Central Rd in Blackburn, about 3.30pm. Paramedics attempted to revive the man but he died at the scene.
Hours earlier, a swimmer drowned at a popular Victorian surf beach.
A surf instructor pulled the man from the water at Torquay after noticing him face down in the shallows.
The man, a local who swims regularly at the beach, had entered the water about 7am and was seen motionless in the water about 30 minutes later.
Ambulance crews were called, while bystanders and Torquay Surf Lifesaving Club members rushed to help. But he could not be revived.
Victoria Police spokesman Luke Zammat said circumstances surrounding the death were being investigated but it was not being treated as suspicious.
The man was yet to be formally identified.
Life Saving Victoria’s general manager Paul Shannon said the drownings were a timely reminder to remain vigilant around water in the lead-up to summer.
“Our oceans and inland waterways are always unpredictable so it is about respecting that as the nature of the beast,” Mr Shannon said.
“Make sure that you are with someone and understand what the weather conditions are likely to be.”