Search for teen swept out to sea by ‘surprise’ wave paused for night

A teenager who was swept out to sea by a large wave on Victoria’s far south-west coast has now been missing for more than a day as authorities paused their search and rescue mission on Wednesday evening.

Two teenagers were snorkelling at a swimming hole in rock pools near Cape Bridgewater, off Blowholes Road, about 7pm on Tuesday when they were swept into the ocean.

The search was called off at about 11.30pm on Tuesday evening.

One boy, aged 15, managed to scramble back to the rocks but soon lost sight of his friend drifting out to sea.

Emergency services responded shortly after, but search efforts were paused after three hours as night fell and the 14-year-old boy had not been found. They resumed on Wednesday, but police said they were scaled down in the evening and would begin again on Thursday.

The 15-year-old who made it back to shore was taken to hospital with minor cuts and abrasions to his upper and lower body.

“The conditions were windy and it was choppy, but the rock pool did afford some protection as I understand it,” Inspector Stephen Thompson told reporters at the scene on Wednesday afternoon.

“However, there was a larger wave than the regular waves that were rolling through, that appears to have taken them by surprise.”

Police are leading a large-scale search operation with support from the SES and Life Saving Victoria. Police helicopters, boats and divers, ambulance helicopters and the coast guard are looking for the Portland teenager.

Thompson said authorities were still hopeful of finding the boy alive, but were getting more concerned as each hour passed.

“The wind has got up – it’s blowing reasonably strongly from the east [to] south-east. It is a rising swell at the moment, we’re told. So, yeah, unfortunately, conditions aren’t getting any better at the moment,” he said.

The families of the boys gathered on the cliffs near the dangerous rock pools near Portland on Tuesday evening while the search got under way.

Ambulance Victoria said a woman in her 40s was assessed at the scene but no emergency treatment or transport was required.

The boys were wearing dark wetsuits as they swam in the unpatrolled area close to dusk. Parks Victoria warns visitors against swimming at Cape Bridgewater due to the strong currents and unstable cliffs.

Police and SES volunteers resumed the search on Wednesday morning after calling it off at 11.30pm on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the SES said members from the Portland, Port Fairy and Warrnambool areas had supported the search operation.

“[Twelve SES] volunteers searched from 7pm until 10pm last night and resumed their search this morning at 9am over the arduous, coastal terrain,” the spokesperson said. “Our volunteers are hoping for a positive outcome.”

About 21 kilometres south-west of Portland, the blowholes at Cape Bridgewater create large spouts of water in high seas and are some of the most treacherous waters in Australia.

High and jagged basalt cliffs fall directly into constantly turbulent water. The cliffs are regularly battered by monstrous waves that sweep in from the Southern Ocean.

A helicopter searches off the Cape Bridgewater coast for a missing boy.Credit: Nine News

It is an old shipwreck coast, feared by mariners who tried to avoid the cliffs as they navigated their way into the Bass Strait.

Frank Ziegler, a retired police officer who now runs a professional diving operation in Portland, has been involved in search operations near the Cape Bridgewater blowholes in the 45 years he has lived in the area.

Ziegler said the rocky area at the cape goes from fairly shallow to very deep due to shelves below the surface. He said when waves come in they tend to build up a lot of force, despite conditions looking relatively calm.

Most people would avoid swimming at the blowholes, Ziegler said, with snorkelers and divers visiting the area in certain conditions. “The occasional wave will come in, develop incredible power, and has been known to actually wash people off the rocks with no warning,” he said.

Paramedics responded to the Cape Bridgewater incident on Tuesday evening.

The constant movement of water at the blowholes meant searching the area was extremely taxing for those involved, he said.

“If you’re thinking about searches, it would probably be one of your worst-case scenarios, to try and find someone in a hurry.

“The wave action is very, very strong. There are large areas of kelp that make searching very, very difficult. There is also tidal movement and certainly currents and surges.

“Swimming would be done on the surf beach on the opposite side where the surf lifesaving club exists. Even between the flags the water is really cold and there’s a fair amount of surge.”

A search is under way for a teenage boy who was swept out to sea in Cape Bridgewater, near Portland.

The Portland Surf Life Saving Club patrols the relatively protected swimming and surfing beach in Bridgewater Bay, a few kilometres from the other side of the cape where the boy went missing.

Cape Bridgewater’s southernmost point is also home to the largest mainland fur sea colony in Australia.

Life Saving Victoria has urged swimmers to take care in the water during the summer holidays by checking the weather, being aware of conditions and knowing swimming capabilities.

There were 24 drowning deaths in Victoria last summer, which was four more than the five-year average. There were 41 drowning deaths in the Warrnambool and South West region between the summer of 2012-13 and summer 2021-2022.

Cliffs near Cape Bridgewater.Credit: Nine News

Police have urged anyone who witnessed the incident or has information that could assist to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

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