An eight-year-old boy has drowned in a backyard pool on Sydney’s north shore, after going missing for about an hour.

Police were called to a house on Lord Street, Roseville, about6.40pm on Tuesday, after reports the boy could not be found.

As officers arrived, the child was found in the pool and pulled from the water, before police and paramedics started CPR, police said.

CareFlight director Ian Badham said the medical helicopter landed in a nearby park and the crew’s doctor joined the efforts to resuscitate the boy.

“They then continued resuscitation in a road ambulance down to Royal North Shore Hospital, where he was in a critical condition.”

The boy could not be revived, police said.

It’s understood the boy had been missing for about an hour and was found underneath the pool cover. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

According to the Royal Life Saving Society’s National Drowning Report there were 37 drownings in swimming pools around Australia in 2010-11.

The most common age group was people under 14-years-old, with 16 drownings in pools.

Safety information can be found on Royal Life Saving’s Keep Watch page.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/boy-8-drowns-in-sydney-backyard-pool-20121107-28×81.html

The Sydney Morning Herald

Stephanie Gardiner

Published: November 7, 2012 – 11:53AM