Major search off Kiama for missing Liverpool father and Nelson and Josh Chan
The major, multi-agency search for a Liverpool father and son who failed to return home from a fishing trip continues. Here’s the latest as family head to the area where they were last seen.
Illawarra Star
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A Sydney father and son are feared to have been swept off rocks by large seas after their fishing gear and a mobile phone was found atop a rock ledge on a notoriously dangerous stretch of coastline.
A major air, land and sea search was set to continue along parts of the Illawarra coastline on Wednesday for Nelson Chan, 47, and his 17-year-old son, Josh, after the pair vanished on a fishing trip to Kiama.
Shattered relatives kept vigil near Storm Bay on Tuesday, where they remained into the afternoon. They could be seen wiping away tears and embracing as the desperate search for Mr Chan and his teenage son continued.
The pair had left Liverpool and remained in contact with family until sunset on Monday, telling relatives they were “going good” and were planning on fishing before returning home at midnight.
But when the pair failed to return, worried relatives contacted police and a major search began for the men, who were not believed to have been wearing life jackets.
Some of Josh’s friends also made the trek to Kiama on Tuesday, where they were seen comforting family members.
Police and search crews were seen at multiple points throughout the day giving the family updates.
The cliff edge of Storm Bay was also filled with various rescue teams, from divers to UAV pilots who were seen occasionally taking breaks with their heads in the hands.
Superintendent Craig Ireland said police had “major concerns” for the father and son.
“We are very concerned, it does appear in all likelihood they have been swept off the rocks, there was a large swell last night and a high tide at the time they were fishing,” he said.
“Early this morning we searched the northern area all the way through to Bombay headland and we’ve done continuous searches with the UAV and the ski assets, as well as other deployed assets.
“If we do shut down some of our assets due to the darkness of the night, we will redeploy tomorrow and continue searching.”
Search crews will return to Kiama at 7am on Wednesday.
“We feel for the family, and we will do our best to locate them,” Superintendent Ireland said.
“The family are distraught, very upset.”
South Coast Surf Rescue Officer Wayne Cavanagh said gear such as life jackets were extremely important when fishing in dangerous conditions.
“Fisherpeople need to wear the correct apparatus and without a life jacket, you do not have a good hope of survival if you get washed in,” he said.
The search, involving officers from Lake Illawarra Police District, Marine Area Command, Police Divers, Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit, Polair, Marine Rescue, SES, and Surf Life Saving NSW, began to wrap up around 3pm on Tuesday, however Mr Cavanagh said some searching would continue into the night.
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