A man has died and his daughter is missing after a small boat was found adrift on the Parramatta River in Sydney’s inner west. 

Emergency services were called to Bayview Park on Burwood Road, Concord, just before 11.45am on Saturday after reports from a passer-by that a man’s body was in the water. 

He is yet to be formally identified but police believe he was in his 40s from the Westmead area.

Officers were told the man had been seen in a small boat with a child shortly before the discovery. 

The girl, who is believed to be seven-years-old and the deceased man’s daughter, is yet to be found. 

Her mother has been notified of the man’s death and that her daughter is missing. 

‘This is an absolute tragedy for the family and the community on every level,’ Burwood Police Area Command’s Superintendent Christine McDonald told reporters on Saturday.

‘Obviously a mother in this situation who knows that her husband is now deceased, who also knows that a major search operation is underway for her seven-year-old daughter, her only child, as I understand it – it would rock any mother to the core.’

A man has died and a child is reportedly missing after a boat was found drifting in Sydney

Specialist resources have been called in to help with the search

Police have established a command post and launched a search for the girl, with specialist resources called in to assist with the search. 

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact Burwood police or Crime Stoppers. 

‘It’s unknown how he [the deceased man] came to be in the water,’ Supt McDonald said.

‘We do know that the man that we’ve located hired the vessel today, and that is all forming part of our inquiries.

‘Today at 12.30pm, police received a call from a friend of the man to say that he had concerns for the child’s welfare and the man’s welfare. 

‘Unfortunately, police had located that man deceased just before 11.45am, so about an hour beforehand.’

Supt McDonald said the girl’s mother is currently with police, assisting with inquiries.

She added that the priority for emergency services is to find the little girl, with the operation including support from Marine Area Command, divers and aviation command.