Two taken to hospital after near drowning incidents

Queensland’s spate of drownings continues with a death on the Sunshine Coast and a near-drowning at Logan.

QUEENSLAND’S spate of drownings continues with a death on the Sunshine Coast and near-drownings at Logan and the Gold Coast.

A man in his 60s drowned at Dicky Beach, Caloundra, this afternoon. Police secured the area at 3.10pm.

Meanwhile, a 20-year-old woman has been taken to Gold Coast University Hospital after being attended to by lifesavers at Burleigh Heads about 5.40pm. She was in a stable condition.

And paramedics responded to reports of a near-drowning at Kingston Rd, Kingston, in Logan at 12.09pm.

The patient has been taken to hospital and is in a stable condition.

In a separate incident, lifesavers at Mooloolaba have treated a 42-year-old male with a suspected spinal injury after he fell from his surfboard and hit his head.

The male was transported to hospital by Queensland Ambulance Service.

Surf Lifesaving duty officer Brian Goulding said the man, an experienced surfer, hit his head on the sand, the Sunshine Coast Daily reports.

Mr Goulding said the man suffered a graze to his head and neck pains.

A female child has been taken to Queensland’s Children’s Hospital in stable condition.

Mooloolaba Beach has seen at least two rescues in two days. Picture: File photo/Lachie Millard

Mr Goulding stressed for beachgoers to swim in patrolled areas between the flags as warm, onshore north-easterly winds increased the risk of bluebottle jellyfish, rips and deceptively “tricky conditions”.

He said lifesavers had ramped up activity on top of their regular patrols across the New Year period, with support from wave runners and helicopters to keep an eye on swimmers.

Two people were also rescued on the Gold Coast today.

A lifesaver on a jetski at Narrowneck rescued a 45-year-old and 55-year-old man from an open water swimming group of more than 50 swimmers. No treatment was needed.

Today’s incidents come after more than a dozen rescues were performed by lifesavers across the state yesterday — 13 by lunch time.

One of the rescues yesterday was also at Mooloolaba, where a man in his 30s became stuck in a rip. He was assessed by paramedics at the scene, on the Mooloolaba Esplanade, but refused transportation to hospital.

On the Gold Coast, one man was taken to hospital in a stable condition after being pulled from waters at Burleigh.

There have also been several jellyfish stings around the state, including two teenagers who were flown to hospital yesterday after being stung by what paramedics suspect is an extremely venomous species of box jellyfish.

A 13-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl were taken via rescue chopper in a stable condition to Hervey Bay Hospital to be treated. Two other people were also treated by paramedics on scene but did not require hospitalisation.

Irukandji jellyfish are an extremely venomous species of box jellyfish, and are considered to both the smallest and one of the most venomous jellyfish in the world.

Yesterday’s rescues come amid a spate of drownings and near-drownings on the Queensland coast.

A woman, 31, and a boy, 11, were pulled unconscious from a pool in The Grange estate at Brendale, north of Brisbane, on December 20.

They had been fighting for their lives in hospital, but police yesterday confirmed both Chinese nationals had since passed away.

Just two days after the Brendale tragedy, a Japanese boy, 7, was pulled lifeless from the Cairns Esplanade Lagoon and had his life support switched off a day later.

On December 19, an elderly man was recovered at Kings Beach, Caloundra and could not be saved, and a week later a man in his 50s was rescued at the same beach.

The Courier-Mail has learned of more than a dozen near-drownings so far this month in addition to at least three people who have lost their lives.

There have been 551 near-drownings nationwide in the past year.