UPDATE: Man discharged, child stable after Tin Can drowning

Another child and man remain in critical condition

UPDATE MONDAY 9.10am:

SOME much needed good news this morning, following the tragic drowning of a nine-year-old boy at Tin Can Bay yesterday afternoon. 

Hospital media confirmed to the Gympie Times this morning the man and the other boy in the incident are making a strong recovery from the incident, after both were admitted to hospital in a critical condition. 

The man, 49, was well enough to be discharged from Gympie Hospital around 6.30pm last night.

The eight-year-old boy, believed to be the friend of the boy who drowned, is still at Nambour Hospital in a stable condition.

EARLIER:

A CHILD has drowned at Tin Can Bay and another child and man are in a critical condition after a tragic afternoon in the water off Norman Point.

Tin Can Bay police senior constable Jason Griffin said two young children got into difficulty while swimming in the channel off the point on Sunday.

"The children have gone out for a swim with an inflatable toy and lost the toy and were dragged out with the outgoing current into deeper water," he told The Gympie Times.

A man, 49, who tried to rescue them has also gotten into trouble.

Graham Spillman, who was on a nearby yacht saw the tragedy unfolding and used his attached tinny to travel to the stuggling swimmers.

Although he pulled the man and boys from the water and took them to shore, he has labelled the man who first swam out to rescue the two boys a hero.

"He risked his own life to go and help those kids," he told The Gympie Times.

"He was just about to drown himself. When I got to him he said: I'm gone, I'm exhausted.

"By the time I got into shore he had swallowed a lot of water.

"He's a hero."

Police confirmed a boy drowned at Tin Can Bay on Sunday afternoon. Picture: Donna Jones

Sen Cnst Griffin said paramedics, emergency workers and volunteers made every effort to save the child who passed away by administering CPR.

The nine-year-old boy was declared deceased at the scene.

The other child, 8, was airlifted to Nambour hospital and the man transported to Gympie Hospital by road, where they remain in a critical condition.

Sen Cnst Griffin said while the channel off Norman Point where the children were swimming is usually 'fairly safe', a full moon with a large tide made conditions unpredictable.

He could not confirm whether the man and children were local to the Cooloola Coast area. 

A report will be prepared for the coroner.

#TinCanBay water incident on The Esplanade about 1pm. Male child airlifted stable to Nambour Hospital. Male 40s stable to Gympie Hospital.

— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) February 12, 2017

UPDATE 3pm Sunday:

A MALE child has been airlifted to Nambour hospital in a stable condition following an incident in the water at Tin Can Bay this afternoon.

A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson could not confirm the age of the child or any information about another child thought to be involved in the incident. 

A man in his 40s has also been transported by ambulance to Gympie Hospital.  

The man and child or children were in danger while swimming, not from a boat capsizing as first thought. 

More details to follow. 

UPDATE 1.15pm: A BOY, believed to be nine years of age, is receiving CPR in Tin Can Bay after a water-related incident.

Queensland Ambulance officers were called to the Esplanade just after 1pm.

Three people have been treated at the scene including the boy, another child, and a man in his 40s.

An emergency helicopter has been tasked and is due to arrive at the beach at 1.35pm.

EARLIER: A QAS spokesperson has confirmed that three people, a person in their 40s and two children have been pulled from the water at Tin Can Bay after their boat capsized.

While the spokesperson could not comment on the condition of the three people, paramedics are currently still on site.

A rescue helicopter is believed to be on the scene.

QAS confirmed they received a call at just after 1pm this afternoon.

More on this story as it comes to hand.

In related news, calls to the QAS are up across the state as Queenslanders succumb to heat related injuries.