A Scarborough mother and her young daughter have been identified as the victims of an apparent drowning at a resort in The Blue Mountains.

Ontario Provincial Police say officers were called to the Mountain Springs Resort and Conference Centre at around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Paramedics rushed the woman and child to a local hospital where they were later pronounced dead.

The husband and father of the victims, Yiting Gong, identified them as 34-year-old Tiffany and five-year-old Chloe.

Gong said that he arrived at the pool 10 minutes after his wife and daughter did and by that time they were "gone."

He spoke softly while describing his grief for his “lovely family.”

“My heart is broken,” he said.

“I don’t know why they don’t have a lifeguard… They should have a lifeguard to save their life.”

The Toronto District School Board confirmed that Chloe was a kindergarten student at Iroquois Junior Public School in Scarborough.

Her principal remembered her as a “vibrant student” who will be dearly missed by staff and fellow students.

“This has been a somber day for all of us at the school as we mourn this tragedy. I know that you will join with all of us in expressing our deepest condolences to grieving family and friends,” principal Marcia Pate wrote in a letter addressed to parents.

“Some of our students and staff are understandably upset and our focus will be to help students and staff cope with Chloe’s death.”

Pate informed parents that “specially trained” TDSB staff members were made available to students today to provide support and counselling for anyone struggling with the news.

“We do encourage families to talk about this event in whatever way that is appropriate for your family,” she said.

According to the property manager, the family had rented a privately-owned home on the resort's grounds and had access to the pool.

The investigation into the deaths is continuing and an autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. 

"The post mortem is to help us continue our investigation and find out exactly what the cause of death is," said OPP Const. Martin Hachey.

Hachey said the tragedy should serve as a reminder about water safety, whether in a controlled body of water like a swimming pool or in a lake.

- With files from  CTV Toronto & The Canadian Press