Police call off seperate searches for missing teen boy and another man off two Sydney beaches | Australia news
Emergency services have suspended separate searches for a teenage boy and a male swimmer in waters off Sydney amid a terrifying New Year period on Australian beaches.
On Sunday afternoon, New South Wales police said search and rescue operations were suspended to search for a 16-year-old boy who was a passenger on a boat that capsized off Palm Beach on New Year’s Eve. A 47-year-old man lost his life in this incident.
A separate search for a 22-year-old man who has been missing since being spotted in the water at Coogee beach in trouble on New Year’s Day has also been suspended.
The man was identified as Sushan Khadka, and police said they were unable to find him “despite an extensive search on land and water.”
Ben Heenan, president of the Coogee Surf Lifesaving Club, said last week that several swimmers, including the man, were swept off their feet by large waves and pulled out by a rip.
Sign up: AÜ Breaking News email
“Three managed to reach shore. Unfortunately, one could not return. We immediately started searching.”
In the statement announcing the suspension of the two searches, the police said that sea patrols would continue in the Palm Beach area and land patrols would continue around the Coogee coast.
Sunday’s announcement follows the deaths of six people on beaches across Australia over the New Year period, including a 34-year-old man who drowned at Green Patch beach in Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast on Saturday.
Emergency services were called just before 5pm following reports that many people were struggling to stay afloat in the harsh conditions. The 34-year-old man was brought back to the beach and first responders attempted to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
On Friday police said a man believed to be in his 50s was pulled from the water at Lobster Bay beach in the Shoalhaven. The person, who was intervened by medical teams, died at the scene.
It comes after a 25-year-old woman was found dead at around 5am on New Year’s Day after being swept into the ocean at Maroubra beach amid warnings about dangerous surf conditions.
Hours later, a 45-year-old woman died at Dunbogan beach near Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of NSW. Police said officers responded to reports of the woman struggling in the water just before 3pm on New Year’s Day. She has been identified as Melissa Austin, a mother of two who runs a beauty salon in Berowra, north of Sydney.
A day earlier, a 35-year-old Irish man died at Whitehaven beach near the Great Barrier Reef after he was found unresponsive in the water around 11am on New Year’s Eve, Queensland police said.
In the Palm Beach incident, emergency services were called at around 11.35am on New Year’s Eve following reports that a boat had capsized near Barrenjoey Point. The 47-year-old man was pulled from the water by surf lifeguards and treated by paramedics, but died at the scene.
A second man, 45, managed to climb the cliffs where he was winched to safety by a Toll Ambulance helicopter. The person with non-life-threatening injuries was taken to hospital.
A 4-day search and rescue operation was launched for the third passenger, a 16-year-old who was previously reported by the police to be 14 years old.
Meanwhile, a search operation for a 32-year-old man who was reported missing while snorkeling off Ledge Point beach, about 105km north of Perth, on Thursday afternoon has been scaled back. ABC reported.
Royal Lifesaving Australia reported the national number of summer drownings since December 1 reached 29 on Saturday.
