Irish tourist drowns in Whitsundays as string of new year water tragedies hits
Australia’s beaches took a deadly turn over the New Year, with an Irish tourist among the victims who drowned in a devastating 48-hour period.
The 35-year-old man was visiting the Whitsundays and swimming at Whitehaven Beach on Wednesday.
The police were notified at around 11:00 on Thursday after a lifeless body was seen in the water.
The death comes after two days of shocking catastrophic events off the coast of Australia.
A boat capsized off Sydney’s northern beaches on Wednesday and one passenger drowned, while another was rescued by helicopter and a search continues for the third person, a 14-year-old boy.
In the early hours of New Year’s Day, a 25-year-old woman drowned in Sydney’s south-east after being struck by a wave, crashing into a tidal rock pool and being swept out to sea by the wave.
He was called to the emergency room around 4 in the morning and his lifeless body was found around 5 in the morning.
Just hours later, a man in his 20s was reported missing after swimming in challenging conditions at Coogee in Sydney’s east.
Police said the man was in a group of four people when he was swept out to sea.
Three of them were rescued by an off-duty police officer and two off-duty surf lifeguards, but one of the men did not return and the search for him continues.
