Three people have drowned and two others are still missing in a tragic start to the year at NSW beaches.
Wild weather closed 68 beaches, including in Sydney, today, with dangerous conditions making venturing into the water unsafe.
New year revellers were being urged to stay out of the water, with two ocean search missions and three drownings in the space of 36 hours.
Emergency services were called to Coogee Beach just after 6am following reports a group was in trouble in the water.
Two people with were able to be rescued after they were swept out in a rip, with an on-duty police officer rushing into the water to assist.
A third person, a man believed to be aged in his 20s, is yet to be located.
Police, Marine Area Command, NSW Ambulance, Surf Life Saving NSW and Randwick City Council were helping search for the man.
Coogee Surf Life Saving Club was conducting roving patrols throughout the day after the search was called off at 11am when choppy surf, currents and rips, rain, and wind conditions intensified.
The search for the man will resume tomorrow, police said.
Earlier this morning, police recovered a body after a Chinese tourist was swept into the ocean in Maroubra.
About 4am, emergency services were called to Maroubra Beach on Marine Parade.
They were told a 25-year-old woman had been knocked into a tidal rock pool by a wave and then dragged into the ocean.
Police searched the waters for about an hour before finding a body about 5am.
Her family was informed of her death, as police prepared a report for the coroner.
On the Mid North Coast, a 45-year-old woman was rescued from the water by members of the public at Dunbogan Beach just before 3pm today.
The rescuers began CPR on the woman, but she was declared dead at the scene.
At North Palm Beach, a search continued today for a 14-year-old boy missing after a boat overturned on New Year’s Eve. A man died in the incident and another was rescued from rocks.
Surge of rescues across NSW
Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said there had been a surge in rescues up and down the coast in recent days.
A number of the rescues involved groups of children.
One swimmer is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after getting into trouble at Avoca Beach on New Year’s Eve afternoon.
He was rescued and resuscitated by two members of the public.
“He was body surfing, he had all the equipment on, he had wetsuits on, he had fins on, he had a leash,” Avoca Beach Surf Club’s Stuart Harvey said.
“The leash probably saved his life because it washed him to the beach.”
A mass rescue at Narrawallee Inlet near Mollymook saw four tourists from the ACT rescued after they were swept into the ocean just after midday on New Year’s Day.
A 15-year-old, 24-year-old and 40-year-old were helped to shore by surfers and taken to hospital. A 51-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital.
At Shoal Bay in the Hunter, a 42-year-old man was pulled unconscious from the water by members of the public at the jetty after jumping off head-first. He was airlifted to hospital.
From Christmas to December 30, lifesavers in NSW carried out 85 rescues, 419 provisions of first aid, and more than 40,000 preventative actions.
“This spate of drownings and rescues have caught everyone off guard over the new year’s period,” Pearce said.
“We are pleading for people – do not enter the water today, if that beach is closed.”
Randwick Council notified residents and visitors that all its beaches had closed today due to the conditions, which included large and powerful surf.
People should avoid swimming, rock fishing and all other coastal activities.
The closed beaches include Coogee, Maroubra, Clovelly, Little Bay and Malabar beaches.
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