Cronulla Beach: Bystanders including news anchor rush to save unconscious woman stuck in rip

A woman in her 20s is in critical condition, pulled from the surf unconscious after becoming stuck in a rip with a friend at Cronulla. Nine News anchor Davina Smith and her husband were among those who rushed to assist.

Nine News afternoon anchor Davina Smith’s husband is one of several people who rushed to assist after two women seen in trouble in the surf at a beach in Sydney’s south.

Police and several ambulances were called to South Cronulla Beach at around 7pm, to reports of a potential drowning.

Crowds at the family friendly spot standing in shock surveying the scene, and people having picnics on the grass by the beach were forced to flee as the Toll helicopter landed on the sand.

A woman in her 20s was swimming with a friend when it’s believed the pair became caught in a rip.

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said the woman was retrieved from the water by bystanders and was unconscious when paramedics arrived.

Emergency services have raced to a beach in Sydney’s south following reports of an unconscious person in the water. Picture: Eliza Barr

Paramedics performed CPR and used a mechanical CPR Lucas device to treat the patient before she was taken to St George Hospital in a critical condition. The second woman had swallowed some water and was also taken to St George Hospital in a stable condition.

Ms Smith and her husband Mark Cameron were both seen talking to police after the incident, with Mr Cameron seen carrying equipment believed to have been left by a doctor delivered to the beach by the Toll helicopter.

Police and several ambulances were seen at Cronulla Beach just after 7.30pm. Picture: Eliza Barr

Three young women who did not know the patient and did not wish to be identified rushed to help the ambulance find the female in trouble.

Ms Smith was seen comforting the three young women while the ambulances attended to the woman.

The women said two females were seen in trouble in the surf, with one being rescued safely and the other described as being “in a bad way” but on her way to hospital.

“Thank God she is safe,” she added, relief palpable in her voice.

Nine News afternoon anchor Davina Smith. Picture: Nine News

Smith and her husband Mark Cameron. Picture: Instagram

The incident is the latest in a spate of water-related incidents over the Christmas period, some with tragic outcomes including the death of two cousins in a boating accident on Keepit Dam, 60km northwest of Tamworth on Tuesday.

The teenagers were on an inflatable being towed by a family member when it struck a submerged tree log, killing the pair.

On Monday, a four-year-old girl nearly drowned in a pool in Sydney’s west and remains in a critical but stable condition. Elsewhere, a man in his 30s died after being pulled unresponsive from the water at Windsor on Christmas Day.