Five cops sent to troubled town after child dies

Extra police have been called in to investigate the sudden death of a child in a remote Queensland community amid reports of unrest.

Specialist police officers have been called in to investigate the sudden death of a child in the North West Queensland community of Doomadgee amid reports of unrest.

A child was taken to the local hospital just before 4am, where they died shortly after, police said.

Detectives and child protection officers are reportedly among five additional officers sent to the community since the death.

The township of Doomadgee, 990km north west of Cairns.

A Queensland police spokeswoman told the Townsville Bulletin community members were “distraught”.

“Family and friends of the child are naturally distraught and community members upset,” she said.

“Detectives from Child Protection and Investigation Units will be attending and conducting investigations.”

Despite reports of unrest, locals on social media denied the claims.

“This is so untrue. People are grieving. There is no unrest in the community of Doomadgee. How can people do this,” one person responded to the reports.

“There is no unrest in the community, this [is] not true. And this [is] from a community member and family,” another wrote.

Doomadgee is a Queensland Gulf community of almost 2000 people situated about 140 kilometres east of the Northern Territory – Queensland border in Gulf Country.

Doomadgee’s hospital was the subjest of an ABC Four Corners investigation earlier this year which uncovered the stories of young local women who died in the space of a year after seeking treatment at the facility.

It reported negligent medical procedures led to the untimely deaths of four women in the remote community, all of whom died from the treatable condition, Rheumatic Heart Disease.

More to come …