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Maroubra drowning: Mother of Tui Gallaher has ‘run out of tears’ as she thanks everyone who tried to find him

A MOTHER said she had no more tears to shed as she kept vigil for a second day at the beach where rescuers continued to search for her 14-year-old son.

Family and friends wait on Maroubra Beach for any news on missing Teen Tui Gallaher.
Family and friends wait on Maroubra Beach for any news on missing Teen Tui Gallaher.

A MOTHER said she had no more tears to shed as she kept vigil for a second day at the beach where rescuers continued to search for her 14-year-old son.

Tui Gallaher is presumed drowned after he disappeared during a night-time swim with his cousin at Maroubra on Tuesday.

He is one of 10 people missing or dead in the state’s waters since Christmas Day, with a man swept away in the Murrumbigee River at Wagga Wagga and another man found dead in the surf at Byron Bay on Wednesday.

Tui’s mother, Sandra Tamano, second from left, waits for news at Maroubra beach with family and friends. Picture: Daniel Aarons
Tui’s mother, Sandra Tamano, second from left, waits for news at Maroubra beach with family and friends. Picture: Daniel Aarons
The search continued yesterday for the missing teenager who was swept away after a late night dip. Picture: Daniel Aarons
The search continued yesterday for the missing teenager who was swept away after a late night dip. Picture: Daniel Aarons

“You don’t know you can run out of tears until something like this happens,” Tui’s mother Sandra Tamano said yesterday.

“I just want my son, that’s what I want, that’s what I need. Nothing else in the world, just my son.”

An extensive air and sea search was scaled back yesterday as beachgoers returned in their hundreds to Maroubra, with rescuers saying the chances of finding the Guildford teenager alive are now slim.

DROWNINGS: SECOND TWIN DIES, THREE DAYS AFTER TWIN BROTHER

The distraught mother thanked everyone for their help. Picture: Daniel Aarons
The distraught mother thanked everyone for their help. Picture: Daniel Aarons
Drones were deployed as well. Picture: Daniel Aarons
Drones were deployed as well. Picture: Daniel Aarons

Tui was at the beach with his extended family when he and his cousin George Lopeti got into trouble in the surf about 8.30pm. A passer-by managed to save George but when he went back for Tui he was gone.

Mother-of-seven Ms Tamano, who was at home at the time, said she thought she was going to die when told her son was missing.

“My heart was aching so much, my heart is still aching,” she said. “I just want to thank everyone who tried (to find him), I know you all tried so hard. I don’t know how to repay you.”

Thousands of people have flocked to beaches the last few days due to soaring temperatures, but officials have advised people to be extra careful after 10 people have gone missing or drowned since Christmas. Picture: Daniel Aarons
Thousands of people have flocked to beaches the last few days due to soaring temperatures, but officials have advised people to be extra careful after 10 people have gone missing or drowned since Christmas. Picture: Daniel Aarons

At Wagga, Victorian man Abd-El-Kaddous’s wife tried desperately to cling onto him when he got into trouble in the river but his denim jeans proved too heavy and the current too strong and he was swept away.

“We understand that she attempted to keep her husband afloat but the current was very powerful,” Inspector Adrian Telfer said.

“There is a lot of water going along there — more than a human being can handle. He was wearing denim jeans but to be honest it may not have made a difference with a current that strong.”

Police were yesterday trying to identify a man aged between 65 and 75 who was found dead in the water at Belongil Beach. Police could only find a set of car keys on the sand.

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/maroubra-drowning-mother-of-tui-gallaher-has-run-out-of-tears-as-she-thanks-everyone-who-tried-to-find-him/news-story/23d44ada27992ce304ca8ddfc7ea72be