A six-year-old girl has died after she was accidentally struck by the propeller of a boat her mum was driving in an Arizona lake.

A group of 12 people from two families had boarded a boat on Lake Pleasant at about 7am on Friday.

Later that morning, one of the families called 911 to report their young daughter had been hit by the boat’s propeller.

People saw that the child’s mother had accidentally killed her young girl, according to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO).

“Witnesses at the scene confirmed that the child’s mother was operating the boat when she began to drive and, unbeknownst to the family, the child had somehow entered the water,” the sheriff’s office said.

Read more:
Brain-eating amoeba kills swimmer
Woman involved in abduction hoax charged

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

Her father was also in the lake at the time with a wakeboard used for water sports. He realised someone was in the water and swam towards his child.

Extreme weather: Temperatures of more than 40C persist in Europe and wildfires rage in Greece, as US braces for record heat

Remains of Arizona woman left strangled in trunk identified by police in Florida 53 years after her death

Mother pleads guilty to murder after six-year-old son starves to death in Arizona

The girl’s leg had been amputated by the boat’s propeller, the sheriff’s office said.

She was taken to the lake’s marina by her family where first responders tried to help her, but was later pronounced dead in hospital.

The incident remains under investigation, but the sheriff’s office said “impairment does not appear to be a factor”.

Related posts:

Historic fire that destroyed nearly a million acres caused by utility firm’s equipment, officials say Tiger Woods says he intends to play at US Masters – more than a year after serious car crash Man who killed stepdaughter with heroin and hid body in ditch jailed for life Biggest US wildfire heads towards mountain resort towns as more people prepare to evacuate Biden marks ‘tragic milestone’ as US hits one million COVID deaths ‘Whatever it takes’: Cheney ‘thinking about’ presidential run in bid to block return of Trump Abortions banned in Arizona after judge lifts injunction Man dupes authors out of hundreds of unpublished manuscripts Joe Biden declares emergency in California after severe winter weather Suspected Chinese ‘spy balloon’ was same size as 20-storey building, US military says Prince Harry returns to LA for Archie’s birthday Prince Harry subject of US court case which could result in his removal from the country