The child’s mother has been left ’rocked to the core’ as the search continues.

A young girl is missing after a man’s body was found in the water near an adrift boat in Sydney.

A father has died and a major search is underway for his young daughter after their boat was found empty in Sydney’s inner west.

The body of a man, believed to be in his 40s, was found in the water near Hen and Chicken Bay at Abbotsford about 11.45am on Saturday.

He is yet to be identified.

Emergency services rushed to Bayview Park on Burwood Rd at Concord after a passer-by aboard a vessel spotted the body and raised the alarm.

The boater then helped police reach the man and retrieve him from the water before returning him to the empty vessel.

A major search operation is underway for the young girl.A major search operation is underway for the young girl. Credit: 7NEWS The man had hired a vessel and was onboard with his seven-year-old daughter.The man had hired a vessel and was onboard with his seven-year-old daughter. Credit: 7NEWS

Superintendent Christine McDonald said the man, from the Westmead area, had hired the vessel and was onboard with his seven-year-old daughter.

Desperate efforts to find her have been launched, with specialist resources called to the scene to assist.

Police were spotted inspecting a small boat with a sun cover which had been docked at a nearby jetty.

McDonald said the child’s mother, whose only child is missing, was “rocked to the core” after learning of the incident. She praised the courage and quick actions of the boater who raised the alarm. Police are appealing for anyone who was in the Bayview Park area at Concord, on the Parramatta River, or near Hen and Chicken Bay on Saturday to come forward.

Anyone with information has been urged to contact Burwood police or Crime Stoppers.

SOURCE: https://7news.com.au/news/desperate-search-for-young-girl-after-man-found-dead-and-boat-adrift-in-sydney-c-22426307