The Entrance Channel back in the spotlight as search resumes for boy swept out to sea
A notoriously dangerous channel on the NSW Central Coast is back in the spotlight as the search resumes for an 11-year-old boy swept out to sea. The channel has a history of tragic drownings and phenomenal rescues.
Central Coast
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It’s known as the “black spot” of the Central Coast – The Entrance Channel.
The notoriously treacherous channel – which connects Tuggerah Lakes to the ocean – is back in the spotlight as authorities search for an 11-year-old boy swept to sea while crossing the channel on Sunday afternoon.
Rescue efforts are not out of the ordinary for the channel which is known for its strong currents during changing tides.
Many people cross the channel at low tide – trying to access North Entrance or get back to the car park at The Entrance – however when the current kicks in, it becomes a phenomenal force.
The force of the channel was demonstrated in 2012 when an incoming tide picked up a HiLux ute and dragged it into the middle of the channel, where it remained until an excavator was called in.
The last known deaths at the channel were in 2016, when two fisherman drowned after falling into the channel while fishing one evening.
In 2012, teenage boy Keon Sbrugnera was taken by a rip in the same area and drowned. The 15-year-old was swimming with friends when he got caught in a rip.
In 2017, a senior constable and local father were hailed heroes after rescuing two boys wading in the shallows were caught in a strong rip.
Signage warning of the dangers are placed at a few locations adjacent to the channel, urging people to “beware – fast, changing currents and deep holes”.
The signage also states the area was a “known danger for fishing, night wading, swimming” and directs people to the nearest patrolled beach 400m around the corner at The Entrance.
But despite the signs there are three separate stairs with handrails, which locals worry lure people down to the channel’s edge.
And unlike other notorious yet popular coastal spots that have multilingual signs, at The Entrance the signs are only in English.
Surf Life Saving Central Coast (SLSCC) chief executive Michael Hyslop said the effectiveness of the signage, warning visitors of the dangers, would be looked at in the coming weeks and months.
But he conceded it was an ongoing issue for surf lifesaving especially reaching people whose first language was not English.
“Yeah look, there is signage up down there and all of those things will be part of the investigation as well ongoing,” he said.
“We obviously always have difficult times spreading our message, [but] like I said today, our focus is to find an 11-year-old boy who’s gone missing.”
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