A six-year-old girl discovered her fatally injured father underwater with a broken neck.
Jonathan Massandy died three days after the freak accident at a public swimming pool.
The 29-year-old's daughter Bobbie told swimmers that her dad was in trouble when she realised he hadn't surfaced after doing a penguin dive.
It is not completely clear how Mr Massandy broke his neck as Bobbie was the only one who witnessed the accident.
Mr Massandy, from Perth, Australia, died after on November 6 after spending three days on a life support machine.
His partner Sare Prijit, who is also mum to Bobbie and her sibling Ajay, told MailOnline : "All I've been able to get out of my daughter at the moment is that they were playing.
"He was teaching her how to penguin dive - when you squat and put your hands together in front of your head and then fall into the water.
"Then she said 'Daddy didn't come back up'."
It is not clear how long Mr Massandy spent under the water before Bobbie was able to alert a female swimmer, who in turn called for a life guard.
The landscaping business owner had gone to the pool alone with his daughter - a favourite activity of the pair.
His partner drove from their home to the pool to pick them up, only to hear the voice of a stranger when she called his mobile.
Ms Prijit went inside the pool to find attempts being made to resuscitate Mr Massandy.
After he was rushed to hospital, where doctors discovered he had severed his spinal cord, the dad was put on life support.
Three days later his family made the decision to turn it off.
"She's only talked once voluntarily about the incident but every now and then she'll mention something that makes her think of him," Ms Prijit said of her daughter.
"I keep telling her it's okay if you want to be sad. She's just an amazing little girl and I am in awe of her."
The grieving mum has set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for Mr Massandy's funeral costs, which has so far raised more than $7,000.
In an emotional Facebook post Ms Prijit wrote: "My heart aches. I feel so completely and utterly empty right now.
"Not only were you my true love, you were our children's world, Bobbie's bestfriend and Ajay's super hero.
"I feel so lost right now and keep wanting to wake up from this nightmare."
