A seven-year-old boy has died after falling overboard from a ferry into the Baltic Sea before his mother jumped in the water and also lost her life (stock image)
The mother was reportedly 'not responsive' after she was pulled from the sea
A seven-year-old boy has died after falling overboard from a ferry into the Baltic Sea before his mother jumped in the water and also lost her life.
The incident happened on a Stena Line ferry on Thursday (June 29), a Swedish Maritime Administration spokesperson said.
The horrific fall reportedly happened midway through the Stena Spirit's journey from Gdynia, Poland, to Karlskrona, Sweden
The mother and the boy, who are both Polish nationals according to police, were transported separately by helicopter to a hospital in Karlskrona.
On Friday, Anders Olsson - a member of the rescue aircraft that rushed to the scene - told a Swedish radio the mother was "not responsive" after she was pulled from the sea, and she received first aid.
According to a Stena spokeswoman, said the child was rescued by the ship's crew from a lifeboat and the mother was rescued by a helicopter.
Mariusz Ciarka, a police spokesperson told reporters it was impossible to save the lives of the two victims.
He said: "Unfortunately, in the morning we received information from the Swedish side that we have to pass on this terrible news to the family, because both the boy and the woman are dead."
It is claimed the boy fell from a height of 65 feet.
Swedish and NATO ships and helicopters that were in the area provided help during the rescue operation.
Stena Line spokesperson Agnieszka Zembrzycka told TVN 24 the reason behind the child's fall is being investigated.
She said: "At the moment we have no information whether this was due to a malfunction of the ferry.
"We are cooperating with the police and other authorities that are appointed to explain the causes and circumstances of this event."
Swedish police have issued an appeal to Polish passengers asking them to share information, in a bid to work out how the accident occurred.
The Stena Spirit can hold up to 1,300 passengers, according to Stena Line's website.
