A community is in mourning after a five-year-old boy was killed in a freak accident at a pre-school in Victoria.

The child, known as Sufi, tripped on concrete steps at the Southern Rise Children’s Centre in Wodonga and hit his head.

The principal of the school, Clint Eckhardt, said he was devastated by the loss of one of its youngest students.

“Our thoughts are with the students, family, friends and classmates at this terrible time,” Mr Eckhardt said.





View photos Five-year-old Sufi died after the tragic fall. Photo: 7News/Supplied More

Police said there is nothing suspicious about Sufi's death, confirming that he had fallen on the stairs.

“We believe on two steps, two external steps and the exact circumstances are under investigation and we're preparing a report for the coroner,” Detective Sergeant Graeme Simpfendorfer told 7 News.

The accident happened around 4:30pm on Tuesday while the boy was in after school care.



View photos The Southern Rise Children's Centre in Wodonga. Photo: 7 News More

View photos Sufi died after tripping on concrete stairs and knocking his head. Photo: 7 News More



Paramedics were on the scene quickly.



He was semi-conscious when they first tended to him, but on the way to the Albury Base Hospital he went into cardiac arrest.



Sufi and his family only moved to Wodonga a few months ago from Ballarat.

View photos Sufi died on his way to hospital in Albury. Photo: 7 News More

His mother and father have told police their son was happy and healthy, and did not have any medical conditions that could have contributed to his death.



Authorities said the child came from a large family who were “extremely distressed”.

His parents are devout Muslims, and are planning to hold their son’s funeral before midnight on Wednesday in Ballarat.



News break – September 7