One woman managed to get back to shore after three washed into water near George Bass coastal walk south of MelbourneGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastA woman has died and a man is missing after they were swept from rocks near a popular coastal walk in Victoria.A further three people have also drowned in separate incidents in New South Wales.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading…One woman managed to get back to shore after three washed into water near George Bass coastal walk south of MelbourneGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastA woman has died and a man is missing after they were swept from rocks near a popular coastal walk in Victoria.A further three people have also drowned in separate incidents in New South Wales.Sign up for the Afternoon Update: Election 2025 email newsletter Continue reading…
A woman has died and a man is missing after they were swept from rocks near a popular coastal walk in Victoria.
A further three people have also drowned in separate incidents in New South Wales.
Emergency workers were called to a beach off Punch Bowl Road near San Remo, 125km south-east of Melbourne, on Friday morning after reports three people were washed into the water.
One woman managed to get back to shore while an aerial search found a second woman unresponsive in the water. She could not be revived. A search was continuing for the man.
Punchbowl Rocks beach is near the George Bass coastal walk and surrounded by high bluffs, reefs and rocks.
The incident followed a fisher dying after being swept into water at Wollongong harbour on Friday morning.
Emergency services were called to Endeavour Drive about 6.15am after reports a man was pulled from the water unconscious. The 58-year-old could not be revived. He had been fishing on a rock wall nearby when he was swept into the water, police believe.
A third person also drowned in North Sydney. Emergency services were called to Middle Head Point in Mosman after reports of concern for a man in the water.
A short time after police led an operation to find the man, a body was located in water nearby. While the body is yet to be formally identified, it is believed to be that of the man who fell into the water, police said.
A fourth person drowned on the state’s south coast. Emergency services were called around 3pm to Green Cape south of Eden after reports of a person in the water.
Officers were told a man was seen fishing before being washed off rocks and a short time later, a body was located in the water.
Separate reports will be prepared for the coroner on all four deaths.
Australians have been urged to take care on the water during the long weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a hazardous surf warning on Friday which will continue into Saturday for several coastal regions of NSW, including the Sydney coast, Eden Coast and Illawarra.
The bureau warned the “surf and swell conditions are expected to be hazardous for coastal activities such as rock fishing, boating, and swimming in the following areas”.
Over the past 20 years, 118 Australians have drowned during Easter, according to Royal Life Saving Australia.