The mother and her 7-year-old son were pronounced dead on Friday.

A boy and his mother have tragically died after he fell from a passenger ferry. The seven-year-old fell off the ferry in the Baltic Sea on Thursday as the vessel travelled from Sweden to Poland. His mother then jumped in after him in an attempt to save his life, authorities have said, according to The Sun. The incident sparked a major search and rescue operation involving ships and helicopters from Sweden and Nato. The mother and son were found and were transported to a hospital in Sweden following the incident. Speaking on Swedish radio on Friday, Anders Olsson, who was on the rescue helicopter, said the woman was not responsive. He confirmed that first aid was administered to her. Lars Blom, chief of rescue operations at the Swedish Maritime Administration rescue centre, said that first it received reports that one person had fallen overboard, "then it turned out to be two". On Friday, Polish police announced that both had died. The Swedish ferry, Stena Spirit, was midway through its journey to Gdynia in Poland from Karlskrona in Sweden when the incident occurred. It is not known what led to the tragedy, but an investigation is underway. Stena Line spokesperson Agnieszka Zembrzycka told TVN24: "We have no information whether this was due to a malfunction of the ferry. "We are cooperating with the police and other authorities," they shared. Swedish police have issued an appeal to Polish passengers. They are asking them to share any relevant information with them.

READ MORE

1. Weather experts pinpoint arrival of stormy conditions and it's just days away

2. Some breast cancer patients could see treatment times cut from five weeks to one with new guidelines

3. 'He has something to do with it' - Friend of Madeleine McCann suspect speaks out