Tragedy as girl, 7, drowns at popular swimming spot while on school holiday
A school holiday outing has ended in heartbreak after a seven-year-old girl was pulled from the water at a popular swimming spot southwest of Brisbane.
The young girl vanished while swimming at Colleges Crossing Recreational Reserve in Chuwar on Saturday afternoon, sparking a frantic search.
Emergency crews were called just before 5pm, with police, including POLAIR and specialist dive units, scouring the water and surrounding banks for hours.
At 10.24pm, the girl was retrieved from the water but could not be saved.
A primary school-aged boy was also taken to Ipswich Hospital in a stable condition after being pulled from the water.
Earlier, officers had cordoned off the picnic area, turning away cars as the desperate search unfolded.
Police divers arrived at the section of river where the little girl was last seen shortly after 8pm.
On the bank, frantic locals used the torchlight from their mobile phones to help crews.
Police officers cordoned off the picnic area, turning away cars as the desperate search unfolded
The young girl vanished while swimming at Colleges Crossing Recreational Reserve (pictured) in Chuwar on Saturday afternoon
Tragically the young girl was found dead hours after she missing
Schoolgirl drowns after vanishing in the Brisbane River on Saturday night
A seven-year-old girl has drowned at a popular swimming spot on the Brisbane River in the south-west of the city.
Emergency services, helicopters and divers scrambled to find the missing swimmer at Colleges Crossing, Chuwar on Saturday evening.
The alarm was raised around 5pm.
Queensland police said that at around 10.30pm, the girl’s body was retrieved from the river and she was declared dead at the scene.
Police are now preparing a report for the coroner.
There were 81 drowning deaths in Australia over the 2025/26 summer, according to Royal Life Saving.
