It has been a tragic Christmas Eve on Queensland's beaches, with a three-year-old boy drowning on the Gold Coast and an elderly man dying after a medical episode on the Sunshine Coast.
Key points:
- A three-year-old boy has died after he was pulled from the Broadwater on the Gold Coast
- A man died in a Sunshine Coast hospital after being found unresponsive at Maroochydore
- A boy died in a Gold Coast hospital after a dog attack
And a five-year-old boy died in hospital after he was mauled by a dog on the Gold Coast.
Paramedics, including critical care crews, were called to Ian Dipple Lagoon in the Broadwater at Labrador, about 9am after a three-year-old boy was pulled from the water.
It's believed the alarm was raised by bystanders when the toddler couldn't be located. He was reportedly found by a bystander face down in the water.
Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Paul Young said it was unclear how long it took for the boy to be found.
"We're hearing different stories, time frames," Mr Young said.
"We would have been on scene for at least probably 25 minutes working on the child."
The boy was rushed in a critical condition to the Gold Coast University Hospital, where he later died.
The coroner will investigate the boy's death.
Meanwhile, a Sunshine Coast man in his early 80s died in hospital after he was found unresponsive at a local beach on Friday morning.
A Queensland Ambulance spokesperson said the man was in a critical condition when paramedics, including the critical care team, arrived at the mouth of the Maroochy River.
It is understood he was found by lifeguards after members of the public raised the alarm.
The man was transported to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a critical condition about 8am and died later that day.
A Queensland Police spokeswoman said the man had suffered a medical episode.
Boy dies after dog attack
Also on the Gold Coast, a boy has died in hospital after he was savaged by a dog.
The five-year-old boy was bitten at a private address at Varsity Lakes on Friday morning and suffered neck and back injuries.
It's understood the boy and his grandmother were playing with the dog in the backyard of a home they were house-sitting when the animal turned on the boy.
"On our arrival, the dog was locked away by the grandmother," Mr Young said.
"The grandmother sustained some puncture wounds to her arm and she was also transported to the hospital as well, in a stable condition."
The pair were taken to the Gold Coast University Hospital about midday, where the boy underwent surgery but later died, police said.
Mr Young said the breed of the dog had not yet been confirmed.