A 12-year-old Craigieburn girl has died after being pulled into deep sea by a riptide.

Tina Eustace was playing in shallow water with her sister Helen, 14, and friend Monique, 14, at Gippsland’s Loch Sport on Sunday January 3rd when all three were unexpectedly drawn into deeper water.

Tina’s mother, Carmen, had only turned her back for a second to grab some towels.

An anonymous woman noticed the struggling trio, diving into the waters and recovering the girls safely to the shore.

But it was too late for Tina. Whilst the other girls were unhurt, the 12-year-old was not breathing.

Paramedics tried to revive her and managed to bring her back temporarily but she died some hours later at the Royal Children’s Hospital.

Tina’s devastated father, Nick, said his family was struggling to cope with the loss of his daughter, who was looking forward to starting Year 7 this year.

He is furthermore angry that the beach had no warning signs of danger in the area.

Nevertheless, he hopes that other families will take heed of the following important message.

“Parents should always exercise extreme caution as it doesn’t take long for accidents to happen,” he said.

“Our children knew how to swim but it wasn’t enough.”