A girl has died in an incident at an Ocean Grove beach

A girl has died in the first week of the school holidays after coming into trouble while swimming near Ocean Grove on Tuesday night.

A girl has tragically died at Ocean Grove beach in the first week of the school holidays.

A girl has died in the first week of the school holidays after coming into trouble while swimming near Ocean Grove on Tuesday night.

Police said a 12-year-old and a 13-year-old girl were swimming at Collendina just after 6pm when they got into difficulty.

“A passer-by entered the water and was able to rescue one of the girls and bring her to shore,” a police spokesman said.

“Police airwing assisted to return the second girl to shore where CPR was performed.”

The 12-year-old girl, believed to be a year seven student at Bellarine Secondary College, could not be revived and died at the scene.

The 13-year-old girl was treated at the scene and taken to Geelong hospital in a stable condition.

A man in his 40s, believed to be the bystander, and a woman in her 30s were treated by paramedics and taken to hospital.

It’s understood all three patients were still in hospital Wednesday morning.

The incident occurred at the beach near the Ocean Grove Hotel and the Collendina Caravan Park.

The area is popular with locals and is around 4km east of the Bellarine Peninsula town’s main swimming beach.

Victoria SES confirmed its volunteers from the Bellarine Unit were on the scene in support of Ambulance Victoria.

Victoria Police said the death was believed to be non-suspicious.

Life Saving Victoria (LSV) issued a statement, extending its “deepest condolences” to the girl’s family and friends after the “heartbreaking incident”.

A spokeswoman for LSV urged beachgoers to be careful, as not all beaches are patrolled by lifeguards at this time of year.

“Any drowning death is one too many, and it is vital the community is aware of the very real risks around water. With the patrol season not yet underway, immediate assistance may not be readily avaliable,” she said.

A spokesman from Dawn Cafe, which is located near the back beach, said the news had come as a shock.

“It is a tragedy,” he said.“We don’t know a heap of details but there is talk about it this morning. We know someone has died.”

A Dunes Cafe staff member said she was alerted to the tragedy last night.

“It’s very sad.”

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

The tragedy comes after two people were rushed to hospital over the weekend in seperate water rescues in Queenscliff and Lorne, in a horror start to the September school holidays.

Originally published as A girl has died in an incident at an Ocean Grove beach