Two children die in the Swan River in New Year’s Eve tragedy

Tragic new details have emerged after the bodies of two young children were found floating in a busy Perth river near a playground.

Two children have died after being found floating in Perth’s Swan River

Two children have died after they were found floating in Perth’s Swan River on Sunday evening.

The six-year-old boy and four-year-old girl were known to one another.

Emergency services were called to Burswood Park at 5:25pm to attend the scene of a drowning, just a few hours before New Year’s Eve celebrations were due to start.

Paramedics arrived to discover a boy and girl who were both unresponsive on the shore after they were pulled out of the water by members of the public.

Acting Commander Mark Longman described the incident as tragic.

“We can only begin to imagine the trauma and suffering that those families will be experiencing at this time,” Mr Longman said.

“We really need to be mindful that we’ve got two families here who have lost children.”

Police have refused to provide any further information as a coronial process was underway.

“The coronial process is quite a matter of fact and clinical process, and I think we need to be mindful and allow them to grieve,” Mr Longman said.

A woman, believed to be the mother of one of the children, reportedly collapsed when at the scene.

Witness Bulal Walizada told The West Australian he was sitting down in the park when they heard a scream.

“We were just sitting down over there and all we heard is a scream. We all ran over and that’s when we saw the kids,” he said.

“One of them was already taken out, the other one was still in the water.”