A three-year-old girl has died after being crushed by a stone monument on the NSW mid-north coast.
The girl, who was on a family holiday, was at the Black Head Bowling Club at Hallidays Point on Saturday evening when the Anzac memorial fell and crushed her, police said.
Newcastle man Michael Styles arrived at the bowling club just after the accident and helped perform CPR on the girl.
“I just turned up and there were some family members doing CPR on this little girl, and I took over,” Mr Styles, who volunteers in mines rescue, told Nine.com.au.
“It was absolute chaos. There were people collapsed from panic and shock,” he said.
Mr Styles said family members were helping a visibly distressed woman, who appeared to be the girl’s mother.
With a Triple 0 operator counting over the phone, Mr Styles did the breathing, while another helper performed chest compressions on the girl.
Paramedics arrived about 15 minutes later and rushed the girl to Manning Rural Referral Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
It is believed the girl had travelled from Sydney with her family and was part of a large 50th birthday celebration at the bowling club.
Superintendent Peter Thurtell told the ABC a group of children from the party were playing outside near the war memorial.
“The deceased child was not climbing on top of the war memorial, another child was climbing on top of the war memorial and it appears as though the weight of that child brought it down and another girl was standing behind that slab,” he said.
“We can’t speculate as to why it fell over … it appears weight was an influencing factor.”
Mr Styles said he was still very upset by what he had witnessed.
“I’m not right about it. I haven’t gone to work ttoday. She was just a tiny girl,” he said.
A worker at the bowling club, who did not wish to be named, said all the staff members were “very shaken up”.
“It’s absolutely devastating what happened, we’re all very saddened by it,” she said.
Police have removed a crime scene that was set up at the bowling club and are preparing a report for the coroner.
Anyone who witnessed the incident and have not yet approached police is asked to contact Taree Police on 0265 520399 or Crime Stoppers.
© Nine Digital Pty Ltd 2016
