On Tuesday, Doveton College principal Deb Gibson said it was a distressing time for the school community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened by the sudden death of a student and one of their parents on Monday, and extend our deepest condolences to their family and friends,\u201d Gibson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWellbeing and support is available for the family and has been arranged for staff and students at the school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Victorian Afghan Associations Network president Zabi Mazoori said the local community was doing what it could to support the young boy\u2019s two siblings.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [the family] are currently being supported by their large family network and community,\u201d Mazoori said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are still in shock and looking after the two children that lost their mother and sibling. The community is also in shock about this tragedy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said water safety remained an issue for communities that came to Australia from Afghanistan, and called for more to be done to raise awareness of water risks.<\/p>\n
A witness who did not want to be named said that \u201cby the time I went outside \u2026 the police had retrieved the child and were trying so, so hard to revive them. My neighbour and I stood at the park in disbelief.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than a dozen SES personnel attended the scene, which extended hundreds of metres from the Allan Street bridge to the end of Steven Street. A police helicopter was used to search for the pair.<\/p>\n
Linda Thorpe, who lives in a home backing onto the creek, said the community was devastated and was taking extra care near the water.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is driving slow today. They\u2019re not driving like they normally do. [They\u2019re] just going slow across the bridge and [feeling] really upset,\u201d said Thorpe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to sit and cry and cry and cry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thorpe said the creek had been linked to other deaths and was dangerous after heavy rain.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople don\u2019t realise how fast that flows \u2026 with all that rain it comes flying through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another local, Sayed Yousaf Hashmi, said he had seen a large number of emergency service workers searching the creek when he arrived home after work.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll the neighbours came out. Women and children, they are all in [a] panic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Greater Dandenong Mayor Jim Memeti said at a council meeting on Monday night: \u201cOur hearts go out to those affected by this awful tragedy, including their families, friends and emergency services who attended.\u201d<\/p>\n
La Trobe MP Jason Wood said it was an unimaginable tragedy.<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease take care around creeks, waterways, and fast-moving water, especially after recent rain,\u201d he said on social media. \u201cMay they rest in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
There has been a history of deaths in Dandenong Creek, including in 2018, when a badly decomposed body was found in the creek bed<\/a> near EastLink and Greens Road.<\/p>\n In 2016, a cyclist drowned after slamming on emergency brakes while riding along the Dandenong Creek trail and falling into the water.<\/p>\n