Mum and her two children drown in Georges River on park outing in Lansvale, Sydney
A Saturday morning out at a local park has ended in tragedy for a young family, after a mother and her son and daughter drowned in the Georges River. Now friends are trying to help the surviving relatives.
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
The drowning deaths of a mother and her two children on the Georges River have left their family facing “unimaginable sorrow” and a father to raise their one-year-old child alone.
Haoi, 32, and her children Mitchell and Hazel Nguyen, aged seven and five, were together on the pier of the river at Lansvale in Sydney’s west when all three somehow ended up in the water.
Police and emergency services were called to the river, where they recovered the body of the 32-year-old woman, before several hours later making the grim discovery of her two young children.
Friends have revealed how the tragedy has seen the woman’s husband left to raise their one-year-old child on his own.
“It’s very painful... my friend and two kids (were) suddenly lost today,” one friend posted on Facebook.
“Two days ago I just talked to you (I am) waiting for you to come back.”
A fundraiser set up had raised more than $12,000 by 10am Sunday.
Morning out ends in tragedy
The Saturday morning out at a local park has ended in tragedy for a young family, after a mother and her two children drowned in the Georges River.
The bodies of the 32-year-old woman, and her two children — a five-year-old girl and a seven-year-old boy — were recovered from the Georges River at Lansvale after a major search operation on Saturday.
The young family, understood to be from the Fairfield area, had been at Shearer Park playing, when it’s believed they walked down to a small boat jetty around 10am.
Minutes later, other families in the park heard their distressed calls for help, and rushed to their aid, with police now investigating exactly how they ended up in the water.
“My information was that they were on that pier, the circumstances of how they came off the pier and into the water, that is what we’re looking into,” Fairfield Police Area Command’s Acting Superintendent Luke Scott said.
Locals desperately tried to save the family, jumping in the water and commandeering boats and jetskis in an effort to pull them from the fast moving current.
The woman was pulled from the river before police arrived, with members of the public performing CPR.
Tragically, she could not be revived by paramedics.
A major search operation was launched to find her children, which took several hours and more than 100 emergency services personnel.
As boats and jetskis travelled back and forth through the water looking for any trace of the siblings, other children watched on from the park, unaware of what was unfolding in front of them.
“This is just tragic, I’m devastated,” one local mum said as she watched on.
“This is a family area, you don’t expect this to happen.”
About 2pm, the bodies of the children were found just metres from the jetty they fell from.
“These are completely tragic circumstances that anybody can feel for, not just the family, and anybody who observed what happened,” Acting Superintendent Scott said.
“It’s beyond words. Absolutely tragic.”
Acting Superintendent Scott said police were still trying to work out exactly what happened, and urged any witnesses to come forward.
“We have spoken to a number of people that were there at the time and assisted,” he said.
“But anybody that hasn’t spoken with police if they could contact Crime Stoppers or Fairfield police station.”
More Coverage
Join the conversation
Third charged over alleged $6m deceased estate fraud
Detectives have made another arrest as they probe the allegedly fraudulent access of deceased Illawarra man Marino Mikleus’ $6m estate.
Read more
Man breaks down after allegedly stalking ex, breaking front door
A Sydney man who allegedly terrified a woman when he showed up at her regional NSW home in the middle of the night broke down in court after he was denied bail.
Read more