A three-year-old girl fighting for life after being left on a bus in hot weather was the only passenger on board, Queensland police say.
Pre-schooler Nevaeh Austin was found unconscious on the minibus outside a childcare centre in Gracemere, near Rockhampton, as the temperature rose to almost 30C on Wednesday afternoon.
There was reportedly a sign on the bus reminding workers to not leave any children on board.
She was taken to Rockhampton Base Hospital in a critical condition then flown to Queensland Children's Hospital in Brisbane.
Nevaeh was believed to have been intubated and was being treated for kidney failure, Nine Network reported on Thursday.
She would also undergo a brain scan, it said.
Police are investigating how she came to be left on the bus after she was picked up that morning to be taken to the centre.
"It would appear that Nevaeh was the only child on the bus at the time," Inspector Darrin Shadlow said.
"When they have returned to the centre, the driver and one other person who were on the bus at the time, had forgotten that she was there."
Staff at the centre are co-operating with the investigation "to a degree", Insp Shadlow said, adding there were clear breaches in safety procedures.
Police have refused to speculate on potential charges but vowed to leave no stone unturned in the investigation.
A number of young children have died or needed hospital treatment after being left on minibuses in the heat in Queensland in recent years.
Maliq Nicholas Floyd Namok-Malamoo died from heat stress after being left on a bus for almost six hours after being picked up to go to a childcare centre in Edmonton, near Cairns, in February 2020.
The three-year-old was found still buckled into his seat on the bus, which was parked outside Hambledon State School, about two kilometres from the childcare centre.
Maliq's mother, Muriel Namok, said her thoughts are with the Gracemere girl's family and the incident had brought back memories of her son's death.
"Just sick, I felt really sick in my stomach. Angry, but definitely sick, I know this feeling all too well," she told Nine's Today program.
Education Queensland brought out its Look Before You Lock policy in October 2021, but Maliq's godmother Rowena Bullio said more needed to be done.
"You look before you lock every time without fail," she said.
"And why It goes on like this? I mean we've had, we saw cracks in aged care and then a royal commission came out of that. And this (Maliq) is one child too many, and then we have another child.
"It's too unbelievable. There is a feeling of disbelief, and there is anger, there is anger now."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was praying for the girl and urged Queensland authorities to take action to stop the situation happening again.
"I'm expecting swift action from the state enforcement authorities on this issue and I'm sure that will follow," he told Today.
"For the parents this is absolutely heartbreaking. I can't even imagine the terrible anxiety that they're feeling at this time.
"I look forward to hearing better news but it's horrific."
