SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian police on Tuesday recovered the bodies of a British national and his nine-year-old son killed in a landslide on a hiking trail in the Blue Mountains national park near Sydney.
A 50-year-old woman and a boy aged 14 remained in critical condition after surgery, while a 15-year-old girl is in hospital under observation, New South Wales state police said.
The family of five, holidaying in Australia, were bushwalking at Wentworth Falls on Monday afternoon when four of them were hit by falling rocks, killing two.
Rescuers took more than an hour to reach the site and a helicopter was used to retrieve the bodies, media reported. The British Consulate is assisting.
The Blue Mountains get about 4 million tourists a year, the most of any national park in Australia.
Australia’s east has been lashed by heavy rains triggering flash flooding and mudslides, with Sydney recording its wettest March on record.
The walking track, which has been closed until further notice, was given a routine inspection a few days ago, New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) said in a statement.
“Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict and eliminate all natural risks such as rockslides, which can occasionally occur around the state,” a NPWS spokesperson said.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Stephen Coates)