Virgin River star Martin Henderson has shared a heartfelt plea to his Instagram followers after a devastating sand dune incident occurred in his community in New Zealand.
The actor, who lives on Great Barrier Island in Auckland, explained that his community "has been rocked" by a tragic accident involving two children and called on his followers to donate to their families.
© InstagramIn a heartbreaking post, Martin revealed that one child sadly passed away whilst the other is recovering in hospital.
Taking to Instagram, he wrote: "I don't often ask people for donations, but our small island community where we live in New Zealand has been devastated by a horrific accident involving two young boys recently. Two wonderful boys we knew personally.
"Sadly the funeral for one was held yesterday and we are all still in mourning and shock whilst still holding out hope for the recovery of the other. He is now sitting up in hospital and we pray he will be his old beautiful self again soon."
© InstagramHe ended the post by adding: "There are no words I can say to adequately express the pain and immense loss the families are going through but any little thing anyone can give will help them in this dark and scary time.
"Link in bio. We will all miss you, Levi. We are praying for you Riley," he said, adding the donation link.
© COURTESY OF NETFLIXMartin's followers rushed to the comments section to share their well wishes, with one person writing: "Sending so much love, and my heart goes out to you and your community," while another added: "So so sad news. I hope all goes well for Riley and wish him a speedy recovery."
A third person commented: "So sorry to hear of this sad and tragic news!! Will keep you all, in thoughts and prayers."
This isn't the first time Martin's community has been affected by a tragic incident.
MORE: Virgin River season six release delayed by strike - details
Back in February, Martin revealed that a cyclone had struck, causing significant flooding and landslides across the North Island which resulted in the deaths of four people.
© Photo: NetflixSharing a map of the storm's path as well as video footage of the cyclone's impact on the sea, the 48-year-old wrote on Instagram: "Not sure how much awareness there is outside of New Zealand right now, but we are being hammered by a pretty violent cyclone which has put the nation into a state of emergency."
Martin went on to say that whilst he and his family remained "safe", their "hearts go out to those who have lost homes and property".
The star also apologized for pulling out of a Virgin River autograph signing that he was due to attend alongside his co-star Alexandra Breckenridge.
© Photo: NetflixThe tragic sand dune incident comes ahead of the release of Virgin River's fifth season, which is reportedly due to land on Netflix in September.
