A man has drowned, suspected to have been caught in a rip on a Sunshine Coast beach.
He was unable to be revived after he was pulled from the surf at Marcoola at about 4.30pm.
Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Aaron Purchase said the incident was a “tragedy”.
“We believe two males in their 30s went for a swim after work and unfortunately picked a spot where there was a rip and they got into difficulty,” he said.
“The lifeguards at the Discovery Beach lifeguard tower were alerted to them being in difficulty and went to assist and were able to rescue one of the males, on a board, but couldn’t locate the second one.
“They launched the jet ski for the second man and located him a short time later. They extricated him from the water and undertook CPR efforts, but unfortunately weren’t successful.”
He said rips were common along open beaches.
“It looks like they went pretty much straight into a rip.”
The Queensland Police Service stated that police attended the beach at about 4.50pm, after a man was pulled unconscious from the water.
“The man was pronounced deceased at scene. A report will be prepared for the coroner.”
Mr Purchase urged beachgoers to swim between the red and yellow flags.
“The lifeguards and lifesavers pick the safest spot on the beach to put the flags and can relocate them as the conditions change. That can also help if people do get into difficulty,” he said.
Mr Purchase also offered some advice for people should they get stuck in a rip.
“The best thing you can do is not panic and swim parallel to the beach, out of the rip, and then make your way back to shore,” he said.
“It sounds a bit counter-intuitive but where the waves are breaking is actually a bit safer because that water is pushing back to the beach.
“Part of the problem with rips is they look calm, because they are a deeper channel of water and there aren’t as many waves breaking in the area as the water moves back out to sea.”
Mr Purchase said the incident was “a tragedy leading into Christmas”.
“We don’t want to see any more, as the water warms up and more people head out, particularly in the afternoons and during the Christmas period.”
