Police have charged a woman with attempting to murder her sons

New South Wales police have charged a woman with attempting to murder her nine-year-old son as emergency workers search for his five-year-old brother in the Murray River near Moama on the Victorian border.

Victorian Emergency services personnel search the Murray River at Moana, Victoria, Friday, Mar. 3, 2017. Source: AAP

The older boy is in hospital in a critical condition with serious dog bites.

His 27-year-old mother turned herself into Victorian police at Echuca on Thursday after also suffering dog bites.

She will appear in court later today.

Police Superintendent Paul Condon says it's a tragedy. It'll rock the community of Australia.