00:00The scene of yesterday's tragedy was quiet today, as local residents tried to come to
00:07grips with the deaths of a mother and her child.
00:10Devastating.
00:11Yeah, I just want to sit and cry and cry.
00:1533-year-old Fariba Hussainzada died trying to save her six-year-old son Farzad Hussainzada
00:21after he fell into the Dandenong Creek yesterday.
00:24The pair were swept away in the fast-moving waters and were unable to be revived.
00:28That was quite traumatising, thinking that two people have passed away through no fault
00:37of their own.
00:38Her devastated family today telling the ABC Ms Hussainzada was a caring and loving mother
00:45who had arrived in Australia from Afghanistan ten years ago and now leaves behind two younger
00:50children.
00:51She sacrificed herself for her son, they said.
00:54In the community, their deaths have been deeply felt.
00:57Last night, Dandenong Council held a minute's silence while Doveton College, where the
01:0260-year-old went to school, said it was deeply saddened.
01:06There was also shock among members of the tight-knit Hazara community, which the family is a part
01:11of.
01:12In 2008, a 12-year-old boy from Tanzania drowned while swimming in Dandenong Creek.
01:27And in 2014, a three-year-old toddler, whose family had recently arrived also from Afghanistan,
01:42died after being swept away in the same area.
01:45This water safety in drowning is, I think, prevalent in our community and no one talks
01:50about it.
01:51In Kyella, in central Victoria, the family of Gershabad Singh were mourning their eight-year-old,
01:56who drowned in the pool of a display home on Sunday evening.
01:59It is an example now of how quick the kids can go in.
02:04My son was an autistic child.
02:07He just jumped and drawn into the water.
02:10Gershabad Singh's funeral will be held on Friday.
02:13Gershabad Singh's funeral will be held on Friday.
02:29There have been a lot of different things.
02:34I think a lot of other things have been done right now.
Comments