PICTURED: Girl, 3, who tragically drowned after falling from a boat as it's revealed she was one of 11 kids sailing with her 'hippie family' on adventure around Australia
- Identity of three-year-old girl who drowned in Hawkesbury River is revealed
- Zeinobiyah Soetekouw (Zobbie) drowned after she fell from a yacht on Tuesday
- She was found a short time later in waters off Dangar Island north of Sydney
- She was airlifted to hospital, where she was pronounced dead after arrival
- Ku-ring-gai Police and Marine Area Command has launched investigation
The identity of the three-year-old toddler who tragically died in a boating accident has been revealed.
Zeinobiyah Soetekouw, who was affectionately called Zobbie by her parents Steve and Beccie, drowned after she fell from a yacht in the Hawkesburry River on Tuesday.
Zobbie had allegedly been playing with her 10 siblings on the boat, which the self-confessed 'hippy' family called 'The Sumbawa', before the incident occurred.
Zeinobiyah Soetekouw (pictured), who was affectionately called Zobbie by her parents Steve and Beccie, drowned after she fell from a yacht in the Hawkesburry River on Tuesday
Zobbie had allegedly been playing with her siblings (pictured) on the boat, which the self-confessed 'hippy' family called 'The Sumbawa', before the incident occurred
Beccie, who had been ashore, discovered Zobbie was missing when she returned to where the boat was moored in Dead Horse Bay off Brooklyn, 7News reported.
The three-year-old was found in the water about 100 metres from where the boat was moored, and it's alleged she had been floating there for about 20 minutes.
Witnesses said the little blonde-haired girl, who was wearing a red dress, was floating face-down when she was found.
Emergency services and water police desperately tried to save her, but the girl was pronounced dead after being airlifted to The Children's Hospital at Westmead.
A family friend, Andrea Stebbins, said the traumatic ordeal was 'devastating'.
Ms Stebbins described how the close-knit family had a 'buddy system', with the older siblings taking care of the younger ones.
Zobbie's mother Beccie (pictrued), who had been ashore, discovered her second youngest child was missing when she returned to the boat on Tuesday
Paramedics stabilised the critically injured girl at a ramp before she was rushed to hospital
The girl reportedly went missing from the vessel, south of Dangar Island, about 12.45pm.
On Tuesday, Geoff Gauslaa, whose Brooklyn Barges boat was moored nearby, watched on helplessly as emergency workers tried to save the girl on the wharf.
'We were in at the wharf there at Mooney when the cops came in with a little girl, and then they unloaded the little girl onto the wharf,' Mr Gauslaa previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Zobbie (pictured) was found in the water about 100 metres from where the boat was moored, and it's alleged she had been floating there about 20 minutes
Mr Gauslaa described the child as a 'little while girl with blondish hair and a bright red dress on'.
The barge worker said the girl appeared to still be alive when officers tried to resuscitate her.
'I actually thought at one stage when they had her on the wharf, the kid actually moved.
'She was still alive I think, I don't know.
'You couldn't just stand and watch it, it was pretty horrific.'
NSW Ambulance acting Central Coast zone manager Sue Dorahy previously said paramedics were met with 'a chaotic scene'.
'The child was not breathing,' Ms Dorahy told Nine News.
'Our paramedics did an exceptional resuscitation effort on the child, worked extensively for a number of minutes and the helicopter arrived.
'These scenes are always very, very confronting when it involves children and any water-based job that does involve a child is always very chaotic.'
Locals believed the boat was a yacht and Seven News reported it was about 25ft long.
A NSW Police spokeswoman could not officially confirm the number of children on board as of Wednesday afternoon.
The girl was airlifted to the Children's Hospital at Westmead, where she died a short time later
The tragic drowning occurred in waters off Dangar Island, north of Sydney on Tuesday
Previous reports had claimed there at least eight children on board the boat at the time.
The police spokeswoman said interstate family members of the girl were still being briefed about the incident.
An investigation has been launched and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.
A report into the death will be prepared for the coroner.
Paramedics worked desperately to revive the three-year-old girl, who later died in hospital
- NSW girl dies in hospital after found floating in Hawkesbury Riverhttps://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-girl-hawkesbury-river-found-floating-brooklyn-fighting-for-life-hospital-news-sydney/45634289-a9af-4a52-8675-aec2d563db4f
- Toddler who drowned in Hawkesbury River was yachting around Australia with her family | 7NEWS.com.au
