Two members of British family killed and others injured

Two members of a British family have died and two others are critically injured after a landslide in Australia. The man, 49, and his nine-year-old son were killed by falling rocks in the Blue Mountains near Sydney on Monday. A woman, 50, and a boy, 14, were taken to hospital with serious head and abdominal injuries. A girl, 15, was treated for shock.

Authorities said the family had been on holiday in the popular tourist area when the accident happened. "Unfortunately there's been a landslip while they've been bushwalking. It's quite a tragic scene," said Supt John Nelson from New South Wales (NSW) Police.

The woman and teenage boy had required sedation and intubation before being winched to safety and flown to hospital on Monday, paramedics said.

The teenage girl was also taken to hospital and was "extremely distressed", according to authorities. "We've focused on caring for her while the best medical care is given to her mum and brother and just trying to get that support for the young 15-year-old," said Supt Nelson.

Authorities had to wait until Tuesday to recover the bodies of the man and boy, describing it as "extremely dangerous" terrain. Like much of Australia's east coast, the Blue Mountains has been lashed by weeks of heavy rain.

Some walking tracks have been closed "due to flood damage and ongoing rockfall risk", according to NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service website. But a spokesman said the track at Wentworth Falls had recently been deemed safe.

"The walking track where this incident occurred was inspected in the days before the rockslide as part of a routine track assessment program," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Unfortunately, it is not possible to predict and eliminate all natural risks such as rockslides, which can occasionally occur around the state."