Victorian tourist Yong Feng identified as Surfers Paradise drowning victim

A hero off-duty lifeguard is being praised for diving in to try and save visitors caught in rough seas off the Gold Coast as the drowning tragedy unfolded. Read the latest

The heroics of an off-duty lifeguard are being praised after he dived into rough surf to save the life of an 11-year-old visitor.

Tragically, the young boy’s father Yong Feng, a visitor from Victoria, could not be saved after he was also pulled from the choppy seas off Surfers Paradise.

Distraught family members watched the horror unfold as beachgoers filmed the tragedy, earning a rebuke from surf life savers.

Mr Feng was swimming at the famous beach just before 7pm on Wednesday near the Meriton Ocean tower when he got into difficulty.

Paramedics worked desperately to save him but he could not be revived.

Emergency services praised a “brave” off-duty lifeguard who saved the man’s 11-year-old son. He was pulled from the surf at the same time.

The boy was rushed to Gold Coast University Hospital after swallowing large amounts of water but was in a stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

Mr Feng’s wife and another child were also treated for shock.

Queensland Ambulance senior operations supervisor Paul Young said paramedics were disappointed with some of the bystanders’ actions.

“(Mr Feng’s family) would have been very distraught on the beach. Surfers Paradise is very populated. I did speak to the paramedics that attended that case yesterday,” Mr Young said.

“They did say quite a lot of the public did get in the way. Phones were out filming, which is probably not appropriate for things like that. They did move off once the paramedics asked them to move away.”

Drowning at Surfers Paradise beach photo by Lachie Harrington

Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Nathan Fife praised the actions of the off-duty lifeguard who rushed to help the boy.

“What a brave act. To risk his life when it was getting dark to bring that 11-year-old back to shore … he did a great job,” he said.

Lifeguards urged members of the public to swim between the flags on patrolled beaches and leave the water when the flags are removed.

However, the tragedy happened outside lifeguard patrol hours.

City lifeguards patrol the popular beach from 6am to 6.30pm over the summer holidays but remove the red and yellow flags when they pack up for the night.

Paramedics have attended a number of near-drowning incidents on the Gold Coast in recent days.

This included a 14-year-old boy who was pulled from the surf in Coolangatta in a stable condition and a one-year-old baby boy who was pulled from a Broadbeach pool, also in a stable condition.

Man drowns, child rescued in beach emergency

A man in his 40s has died after being pulled from the surf at a popular Gold Coast beach.

Emergency services were called to Surfers Paradise Boulevard near the Meriton Ocean tower about 7pm Wednesday.

Police said initial information indicated an interstate man in his 40s and a boy, 11, came into trouble in the water.

The child was rescued by a member of the public.

Lifeguards rescued the man from the water, but he was unable to be revived by paramedics and died at the scene, police said.

The child was taken to hospital.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

The scene of a suspected drowning at Surfers Paradise beach on Wednesday night. Picture: Lachie Harrington, Facebook.

Initial: Emergency services have rushed to a suspected drowning on a popular Gold Coast beach.

Two people were pulled from the water just in front of Surfers Paradise Boulevard near the Meriton Ocean tower, about 7pm on Wednesday, a Queensland Ambulance spokeswoman said.

Only one person was taken to hospital, she said.

A concerned resident posting to the Surfers Paradise Community Facebook page wrote: “Not looking good,” with footage showing a large number of people on the sand, with ambulances nearby.

“So many police vans and a crowd,” wrote another.