Nevaeh Austin was the “only child” on the school bus when the incident took place. (Representative Photo)
A three-year-old girl is fighting for her life in Australia after being left in a childcare centre bus for six hours. The incident took place in Queensland on Wednesday and according to the police, Nevaeh Austin was the “only child” on the vehicle that morning.
She was left unattended in hot temperatures outside Le Smileys Early Learning Centre in Gracemere, near Rockhampton on Wednesday afternoon. According to the website of the regional Bureau of Meteorology, Rockhampton recorded a maximum temperature of 29.2 degrees on Wednesday.
The Guardian reported that Austin was first rushed to a local hospital, but then airlifted to the Queensland Children’s hospital where she remains in a stable but critical condition.
Capricornia Police District Detective Inspector Darrin Shadlow told reporters that the girl was picked up at 9am and was found unconscious in the school bus six hours later.
“It would appear that Neva was the only child on the bus at the time. And when they returned to the centre, the driver and one other person who was in the bus at the time had forgotten she was there. The staff found her on the bus, she was taken to the centre where they performed CPR,” Mr Shadlow added.
Sky News spoke to the Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS), which took the little girl to the hospital. The staff there said that the paramedics revived the toddler before she was rushed to the local hospital in Rockhampton.
Nevaeh Austin was taken to a hospital in Brisbane for an urgent deep brain scan and treatment on a failing kidney, according to Daily Mail.
Brittany Lauga, Queensland’s assistant minister for education, said that the incident “simply shouldn’t have happened”.
“I know this little girl is very much in the thoughts of all of us… wishing for a full recovery. My thoughts are with this little girl’s family and friends,” the minister said.