A baby girl died after her mother reportedly tripped and fell while trying to dodge a swooping magpie, with her daughter in her arms.
The girl was rushed from Glindermann Park in Brisbane to hospital at midday on Sunday after suffering severe head injuries in the fall.
Doctors were unable to revive the baby and she was sadly pronounced dead at Queensland Children’s Hospital.
Baby dies after mom falls while trying to dodge magpie
A spokesperson who was in an ambulance told news media, “According to reports, a mother had ducked to avoid a magpie and then tripped over a baby on her arm.”
A young couple who had been walking nearby ran, after hearing the screams of the baby’s parents.
Speaking to the Courier Mail, the man described the father as “heroic”, having called the emergency services while doing everything he could to help his wife and child.
“I’ve seen shock before, but this was beyond anything I’d ever seen,” he said.
The man’s wife said the couple had been struggling to fall asleep since the tragic event.
“I guess it’s sickening to see a family torn apart in a moment,” she said.
One local told the news outlet that he had alerted the council to the magpie-related problems eight weeks ago, while another resident said he had “lost count” of the number of times a bird had swooped on him in the area.
According to reports, council workers captured the magpie after the horrific incident and took it away in a cage. Additional signs had been posted in the area, warning passersby of “swooping birds.”
According to reports from ABC Australia, Brisbane City Council standards chairman Kim Marx said an exclusion zone had been set up near the tragic scene, ABC Australia reports.
“A number of swooping bird warning signs were in place around the area where this incident occurred, and our officers have now installed several more.”
