The driver and support worker forgot the 3-year-old outside a nursery in Queensland, Australia, where temperatures reached up to 50C.

A 3-year-old girl who was forgotten inside a bus for six hours has been hospitalised and in critical condition.

The driver and support worker forgot 3-year-old, Nevaeh Austin outside a nursery in Queensland, Australia, where temperatures reached up to 50C, police said.

Detective Inspector Darrin Shadlow told reporters that Nevaeh had been on the bus that takes children to Le Smileys Early Learning Centre in Rockhampton since 9am on Wednesday, May 4, and that she was the only child on board that day.

He said: “The driver and one other person who were in the bus at the time have forgotten that she was there.

“It would appear there were some breaches of policy and a young child is fighting for her life in a Brisbane hospital. We will potentially look further afield, apart from the driver and support worker.”

Inspector Shadlow described the condition of Nevaeh, who was taken to a hospital in Brisbane, as critical but stable.

He added that the child’s family is “distraught”.

Nevaeh has kidney failure and was rushed through for a deep brain scan after she was found “unresponsive” and “unconscious” in the bus at around 2.50pm.

The detective promised the investigation “will leave no stone unturned” and look at “every person who is culpable in this matter”.

Queensland is one of the hottest regions of Australia, where daily temperatures average 30C.

Paramedic Jason Thompson, who was at the scene when the girl was found, recalled the “traumatic” discovery in an interview with ABC news.

He said: “I get goosebumps just as I speak about it now.

“When a child is sick, it’s traumatic, and when one is as critical and unconscious, your heart goes out to them.”