Landslide hits British family in Australia

SYDNEY

A British family of five was caught in a landslide while walking in Australia’s Blue Mountains, and the father and 9-year-old son died. The mother and their teenage son were critically injured.

The landslide on a walking path at Wentworth Pass, a popular tourist destination in the mountains west of Sydney, was reported to emergency services about 1.40 p.m. Monday.

A 50-year-old woman and her 14-year-old son were winched by helicopter and taken to Sydney hospitals with significant head and abdominal injuries.

They remained in critical condition on Tuesday, New South Wales Ambulance Acting Chief Superintendent Stewart Clarke told Nine Network television’s “Today” program.

Paramedics walked the 15-year-old girl from the scene of the landslide, which is about 90 minutes from the site’s parking lot.

She was treated for shock.

A police helicopter on Tuesday winched the bodies of the younger boy and his 49-year-old father from the scene, emergency services said.

Police said the British family were on vacation.

The walking path the family was on includes scenic overlooks and leads to Wentworth Falls. Rains have caused landslides in the area, but the path had recently been inspected and judged to be safe.