Coastguard, police, and locals are searching the area around Clarks Beach for the child after the boating tragedy.
The missing 10-year-old is a pupil at Sandspit Road School and principal Sharyn de Jonge said the community was “devastated” and that “their hearts go out to the family”.
“We’re doing all we can to support everyone that is affected,” she said.
“We contacted families this morning to collect children from school in order that they hear the sad news in the safety of their homes and with the love of their family.”
She said the school was working with the Ministry of Education to ensure they have a plan for the long-term support of students.
A resident walking along the beach said he’d been looking for the missing child since early morning.
“The police officer told me the whole family was out there, the mother drowned and the 10-year-old didn’t have a life jacket on.”
“They were fishing out at sea.”
Two men who were on the boat when it capsized near Clarks Beach were “hypothermic and under distress” after swimming to shore.
A local man at the scene said two men were spotted running out of the water and along the shore raising the alarm.
Another resident said she cared for two people who were “hypothermic and looked under distress” after being in the water for hours last night.
“They had swum from the upturned boat to the shore,” she said.
A police spokesperson said one person remained outstanding after a boat with five people on board capsized around 7pm yesterday.
