NSW drowning toll: Australia Day water warning as deaths rise

Thirteen lives lost in just two months: These are the faces of a nightmare summer along NSW’s beaches and waterways that has authorities fearing record rescues on Australia Day.

Australia Day revellers have been handed a dire warning after three people died by drowning in the past two days — taking the summer’s death toll to 13 in NSW while 48 people died nationally.

The nightmare summer along NSW beaches continued today with yet another death, this time a man in his 50s pulled from the water on a Mid-North Coast beach.

Surf Life Saving NSW is expecting more than a million people to hit the water over the four days from Australia Day and authorities are on edge — fearing a record number of rescues.

The bumper crowds are expected after a woman drowned in Jervis Bay while paddleboarding on Monday, while a man was pulled from the water at Curl Curl Beach on the Northern Beaches on Tuesday.

The last time Australia Day fell within a day of the weekend was in 2021 – over that four day period about 1.5 million people turned out along the coastline and waterways.

Since the start of summer Surf Life Saving NSW has already carried out 1930 rescues and has been involved in 35 near fatal drowning incidents.

Emergency Services Minister Steph Cooked urged people to be careful in the water over the break.

“Australia Day and New Year’s Day are the two of the most dangerous days of the year at our beaches, and drownings can often be prevented by taking simple precautions like swimming at patrolled locations and between the red and yellow flags, supervising children and never swimming under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” she said.

After consecutive floods, NSW’s rivers have also been a risk with 16-year-old Ryan Bibby and 36-year-old Sandeep Dutta both drowning in the Hawkesbury River at Windsor within two weeks of each other in December.

Just after Christmas, cousins Hannah Seymour, 14, and Rebecca Teuma, 13, died after a boating accident on Lake Keepit near Tamworth.

NSW drownings this summer have shocked authorities. Victims (clockwise from top left) Sebas Sanchez Leon, Hannah Seymour, Noa Sage, Ryan Bibby, Sandeep Dutta, Rebecca Teuma, Peter Stone and Paul Doran.

NSW Maritime Executive Director Mark Hutchings said people were not wearing life jackets.

“The biggest issue NSW Maritime is seeing this summer is people not using life jackets. We’ve seen many boating-related incidents, including capsizes, collisions, boat fires, serious injuries and, tragically, lives lost,” he said.

Marine Rescue carried out a record 1039 rescue missions since the start of summer and helped almost 2500 boaters return to shore while NSW Maritime has carried out 13,445 vessel checks resulting in 668 fines and 1777 official warnings.

Surf Lifesaving chief executive Steve Pearce added: “We want everyone to enjoy a great Australia Day on the beach. Lifesavers and lifeguards will be out in force to protect people, but if we can’t see you, we can’t save you. Please swim at a patrolled location between the red and yellow flags.”