Heartbreak as couple drown trying to save daughter from dangerous rip in WA

A community is mourning a husband and wife who drowned while trying to save their daughter after she got caught in a dangerous rip at a picturesque beach.

A couple have drowned after trying to save their daughter from a dangerous rip at a popular Western Australian beach on Saturday.

The husband and wife, Dr Mohammad Swapan, 44, and Sabrina Ahmed, 40, were on a Christmas holiday with their two daughters at a remote beach on Conspicuous Cliff near the southwest town of Walpole in Western Australia, as reported by 9 News.

Husband and wife Dr Mohammad Swana and Sabrina Ahmed drowned while saving their daughter from a rip.

The couple’s friend jumped in to help and was taken to hospital.

Emergency services were called to the area after reports three people were caught in a rip about 2.40pm.

It’s understood the couple was attempting to rescue their daughter who had become stuck in the dangerous waters.

A third person, a 42-year-old man, jumped into the water to save the struggling couple.

Members of the public had pulled the group out of the water by the time police arrived.

Officers commenced CPR but the man and woman could not be revived.

The 42-year-old man was resuscitated and rushed to hospital where he remains.

Friend to the couple and colleague, Ruhul Salim, said the husband and wife were respected members of the Bangladeshi community in Perth who will be “seriously” missed.

“Those girls. Oh, my God, you know. I feel, you know, sorry,” he said per 9 News.

An outpouring of tributes to the couple have been shared online, with one saying it was “without a doubt one of the most heart-wrenching losses” Perth’s Bangladeshi community had experienced, as reported by the Daily Mail.

The couple were “loved by everyone”.

The couple were well respected in the Bangladeshi community.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Conspicuous Cliff is around 100km west of Albany on a rugged stretch of the WA coast that is exposed to strong seas and massive swells.

Royal Life Saving Australia data shows the number of drownings has spiked this year.

There were 14 deaths in the first three weeks of summer this year, which is higher than the death toll for the same period in 2023.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner after a man and woman drowned at a regional WA beach on Saturday. Picture: Google

The current death rate is 20 per cent higher than the five-year average.

The data shows that more than 80 per cent of drowning victims are men and more than 80 per cent of drowning victims were not born in Australia.

Rivers and creeks account for a quarter of all drownings, while about 20 per cent occur at Australian beaches.

Originally published as Heartbreak as couple drown trying to save daughter from dangerous rip in WA