Australian prime minister Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny have paid their respects to the victims of the bouncy castle tragedy in Tasmania ahead of reports a sixth child has died.
It was reported by MailOnline this morning (Sunday) that Tasmanian police commissioner Darren Hine had confirmed Chace Harrison, 11, died during the afternoon.
ABC News in Australia reported yesterday (Saturday) that the tribute came after Mr Morrison had earlier announced an $800,000 (£430,000) fund to support affected families and the community.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported Mr Morrison as saying: “I want to extend our deepest sympathies to the five families in particular who have lost those precious young ones, and we think also of the families of the three who are still in a terribly critical condition.
“We think of the entire community that is just heaving with sorrow. As I said yesterday, there are no words, only prayers, for our fellow Australians in Tasmania, and for the community that will carry this burden.
“And it will be a heavy burden. It will weigh them down. But I want to say to them, whether they’re the first responders, the teachers, the friends, the family, the P&C at Hillcrest - the whole community - that Australia is one with them. And we grieve with them and we mourn with them, and we want to do everything we possibly can to help them through this terrible, terrible, unthinkable, unimaginable tragedy.”
Relatives of the Hillcrest Primary School students killed and injured in Thursday's incident - along with wellwishers - have overwhelmed the site with tributes, cards and other items expressing their sympathies.
ABC News reported yesterday that a relative of one of the students was seen hugging a tree at the location where the inflatable equipment eventually came to rest.
Paramedics staff have also visited the site where the jumping castle became airborne. The circumstances of the tragedy - and whether proper precautions were followed - is still being investigated.
Nine children fell from a height of around 10 metres (33ft) due to what eyewitnesses have told police was a gust of wind.
Tasmania Police initially named the five dead children as Addison Stewart, 11, Zane Mellor, 12, Jye Sheehan, 12, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones, 12, and Peter Dodt, 12. Three other students were at the time reportedly in hospital in a critical condition, while one child was discharged on Friday morning.
Cards and items have been left in tribute to the deceased and injured students and emergency responders who first attended.
Tasmanian Police, WorkSafe Tasmania and the coroner have begun an investigation into the incident that is expected to take "quite some time", ABC News reported.
It has emerged that the Education Department has banned all inflatable entertainment equipment from all school sites indefinitely in the wake of the incident.
The tragedy has also lead to an outpouring of grief and a flood of support from all over the country. A fund to raise money for the families and the school has already collected more than $1.2 million (£645,000).
ABC News reported that Hawthorn and Richmond will also play an AFL (Australian Football League) pre-season match in the state's north-west in March, to raise funds for the victims and the wider community.
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