Man in his 20s pulled from the water at Mermaid Beach, rushed to Robina Hospital

A man has been pulled unconscious from the water at Mermaid Beach after a frenzied rescue effort. Read how it unfolded.

A man has been pulled unconscious from the water at Mermaid Beach after being caught in a rip and pulled out to sea.

The man, aged in his 20s, was swimming at the unpatrolled beach off Alfred Street around 11.30am on Thursday.

Adam Flory from the Queensland Ambulance Service said the man was in trouble for a number of minutes before he was noticed by lifeguards.

“When they got to him he was actually under the water. It could have been a very different situation if the lifeguards weren’t on duty,” Mr Flory said.

Queensland Ambulance Service senior operations supervisor Adam Flory said the swimmer was ‘lucky’. Picture: Luke Mortimer

“He was in an altered conscious state, very fatigued. We’ve done some basic interventions. Some oxygen and basic observations.”

Paramedics worked on the man for about half an hour before he was transported to Robina Hospital for further observation and treatment.

Mr Flory said the near drowning highlighted the need for beachgoers to swim between the flags.

“Unpatrolled sections of the beach are very unpredictable. In this case there are numerous rips out there today.

“It’s a very, very close call, he is a very lucky person.”