Young boy drowns at Gippsland camping ground, man dies in Rye in horrific day in Victorian waters

An eight-year-old boy has drowned in a river at an East Gippsland campsite, just hours before a man died at a Mornington Peninsula beach.

A young boy has drowned at a camping ground in Cobbannah. Picture: Facebook, Amelia Neilson

A young boy has drowned and a man is dead after two horrific incidents in Victorian waters.

The eight-year-old boy drowned at a river near a remote East Gippsland campsite on Friday, and was found in the water several hours after he went missing.

Emergency crews had been called to a camping ground off Angusvale Track in Cobbannah, between Dargo and Glenaladale, following reports of a missing boy in the river just before midday.

He had last been seen in the water about thirty minutes earlier, but had not been spotted since.

A police spokesman said a huge ground and air search effort was conducted from several agencies, and the boy’s body was found in the water about 2.50pm.

It is believed several locals and other campers helped with the search.

The Mitchell River and Cobbannah Creek runs through the remote bushland, an hour’s drive from Dargo through the rugged High Country.

A police spokesman said their investigation was ongoing.

Just a few hours after the tragedy, emergency services were called to reports of an unresponsive male at a Mornington Peninsula beach.

A jet ski rider in Rye found the man in waters off Tyrone Beach, near Butler St, just before 5.30pm.

Police said the yet to be formally identified man was brought to shore and given CPR but he died at the scene.

A spokeswoman said the exact circumstances of his death were “yet to be determined” but it was not being treated as suspicious.

Police will prepare reports for the coroner for both deaths.