Searches continue for missing snorkeler in WA and others amid hazardous surf conditions in Australia
A 32-year-old man who went snorkelling at Ledge Point Beach in Western Australia was reported missing around 3pm on Thursday. The search operations are ongoing, involving Marine Rescue vessels, jetskis, the police air-wing, and divers. Efforts to locate him have continued both in the water and along the coastline into Friday.
In Sydney, a Nepalese man remains missing after a group of four swimmers was swept out by a rip at Coogee Beach; three of the swimmers returned to shore safely while one is still unaccounted for. Additionally, on New Year’s Eve at Palm Beach, north of Sydney, a dinghy capsized with two men and a 14-year-old boy on board. One man died, the second man was rescued, but the boy remains missing.
Three other drownings were reported in eastern Australia this week: an Irish man at Whitehaven Beach near the Great Barrier Reef, a 25-year-old woman swept from a Sydney beach, and a 45-year-old woman at Dunbogan Beach in New South Wales.
These incidents occurred amidst dangerous surf conditions driven by strong southerly winds. The Bureau of Meteorology cancelled its hazardous surf warning early Friday but maintained a strong wind warning for the Eden Coast.
Steven Pearce, CEO of Surf Life Saving NSW, stated that the drownings mostly happened in hazardous surf environments at unpatrolled locations. Many beaches were closed to the public, and Pearce emphasized the importance of swimming at patrolled beaches between red and yellow flags to ensure safety.
