Neighbours said they were shocked by the death of a five-year-old girl in Adelaide’s west on Wednesday.
Police and paramedics were called to Ballater Avenue in Seaton just before 4pm on Wednesday following reports of an unresponsive child.
South Australian Police Commissioner Grant Stevens told ABC Radio Adelaide the girl was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead.
“It’s obviously very tragic when anyone loses their life, more so with a young person,” Mr Stevens said.
Major Crime officers were sent to the scene to investigate but police are yet to publicly state whether the death is considered suspicious.
SA Police said the death is under investigation and a report is being prepared for the coroner.
“Until such time as this process has completed, and the coroner has made their final determinations, the matter remains under investigation,” police said in a statement.
But one family member told media the death was “not a police matter”.
“No one did anything wrong,” the family member said.
One neighbour said the news of a five-year-old’s death was “terrible”.
“Especially when it’s so close to you,” she said.
The neighbour said she heard yelling and saw lots of cars and ambulances when she took her dog outside.
“I basically thought something serious had happened, I didn’t know what but just something serious,” she said.
Another neighbour, Joseph Manganti, said he came home to find the road closed and described the news as “quite surprising and sad”.
Mr Manganti said he had lived on the street for 11 years.
“This street is very, very quiet … all of a sudden this just happened, so we feel saddened,” he said.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said losing a child was “every parent’s worst nightmare”.
“Anytime we see a death of a child in unexplained circumstances, it’s more than alarming it’s somewhat distressing,” he said.
“I think it’s important that we don’t jump to any conclusions.”
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