An Australian man and his two young children have been found dead inside a property in Bali.

The grim discovery on Sunday (local time) came after a desperate call from the man’s wife.

Staff at a hotel on Three Brothers Street in Kuta called police after finding the bodies of a 56-year-old Perth man and two children, a four-year-old girl and six-year-old boy, in their room.

He is being named in multiple reports as Damien John Shaw.

It’s understood Shaw’s wife, who is the children’s mother, requested a welfare check.

Badung Regency police said the woman, who was in Jakarta, had called a neighbour after hearing one of the children cry while she was on the phone to Shaw. She told the neighbour the call was disconnected and she could not contact her husband again.

All three bodies were taken to a local Bali hospital and autopsies are under way. Bali authorities are investigating the deaths as a potential murder-suicide.

Western Australian Premier Roger Cook said the incident was horrific and stressed that investigations continued.

“This is a very sad, sad situation and our hearts go out to everyone involved,” he said on Monday.

“We hope that we can get to the bottom of what’s gone on here as soon as possible.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing assistance to the family but would give no further comment.

“We send our deepest condolences to the family at this difficult time,” a DFAT spokesperson.

It is the second tragedy on the holiday island involving Australians in just a few days. On Saturday morning, 29-year-old Queenslander Brianna Cronin died after falling from a cliff at the popular Kelingking Beach.

Cronin, who was holidaying in Bali, was found clinging to the side of the cliff but fell before emergency services could reach her.

Kelingking Beach is one of the most popular destinations for Bali tourists, offering panoramic views from the 180-metre-high coastal cliff.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson confirmed the government was providing consular assistance to Cronin’s family.

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