A three-year-old boy has been found dead on a bus in Queensland.

The boy was found at about 3.15 pm in a minibus parked out the front of a school in Edmonton, south of Cairns.

Police said it was believed the boy was being taken to a daycare center and was discovered by the driver of the minibus.

The minibus was parked outside the Hambledon state school. Police said there did not seem to be any connection between the bus and the school.

“Investigations are currently continuing to work out the circumstances around that death,” Detective Inspector Jason Smith told Channel Nine.

“It’s early days and a number of factors could be at play here and we’ll investigate all possibilities.

“The death of any child is an awful thing which is why it’s so important for us to get to the bottom of this.”

Detectives from the Child Protection Investigation Unit are investigating.

In a statement, childcare provider Goodstart Early Learning said it was “devastated by the death of a child in our care”.

“We are working to support the entire center team, our families and our children.

“Our thoughts are very much with the family of the child at this time.”

Goodstart said it would be working with the police, the Department of Education and Workplace Health and Safety as they investigated.