File photo. Photo: 123rf.com
Two men have drowned after jumping into a pool to save a child on Australia's Gold Coast.
Emergency services were called to the Top of the Mark hotel apartment building in Surfers Paradise just before 7pm on Sunday, following reports that both men had gone into cardiac arrest.
Paramedics said the pair, aged 65 and 38, had been pulled from the pool by bystanders.
They performed CPR on the two men but the pair were unable to be revived and died at the scene, Mitchell Ware from Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) said.
He said it was understood the child lost their footing and fell into a deep part of the pool.
"The two male patients have entered the pool in an attempt to rescue that child and found themselves in trouble in the pool," he said.
The child was pulled safely from the water.
'Extremely emotional scene'
Ware said it is believed that the 38-year-old man was the father of the child, while the 65-year-old man was the grandfather.
A female patient who was known to the men was transported to Gold Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
"It's an extremely emotional scene," Ware said.
"Obviously, anyone could understand that - not just to lose one family member but to lose two family members."
The hotel pool is several storeys above the busy street, but people on the street said they could hear a woman wailing in the aftermath of the incident.
Another person said they were able to see the pool from their apartment building on the tourist strip.
They said it was a confronting scene.
"It wasn't good … it was pretty horrendous," said the witness, who did not wish to be named.
Building resident Ellie Alavi said she could not sleep after witnessing the scene from her apartment.
She said she arrived after the drownings, but it appeared as though the men had jumped into the pool fully clothed.
"I couldn't sleep last night, it was shocking," she said.
'Even adults can drown within seconds'
Ware urged people to stay vigilant around pools, as drowning rates are typically high around the school holidays.
"We do see increases in post-immersion cases in and around the Easter long weekend and especially around the school holidays," he said.
Royal Life Saving Society figures show 281 people drowned last year.
More than half of those deaths were people over the age of 45.
Mr Ware said swimming pools could be dangerous, regardless of their depth.
"I will just reiterate just to the community to exercise due care especially if you're not a strong swimmer and especially if there's young children around that you are really careful," Mr Ware said.
"We know that children and even adults can drown within a couple of seconds if they find themselves in those sort of situations."
Investigations are ongoing and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
- This story was first published by the ABC.