Person rescued from near-drowning southwest of Lorne

A person has been rescued near the St George River on Monday afternoon after almost drowning.

St George River beach, Lorne, near where a person was rescued on Monday afternoon.

A person has been taken to hospital after a near-drowning southwest of Lorne on Monday afternoon.

A Life Saving Victoria (LSV) spokesperson said lifesavers were contacted to assist with an incident described as a near-drowning near the St George River southwest of Lorne just before 3pm.

“Patient was successfully recovered and treated by Ambulance Victoria,” they said.

“Lorne Surf Lifesaving Club volunteers assisted, sending two inflatable rescue boats to assist with the extraction.”

An Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said paramedics also responded to the incident.

“One person has been transported to Lorne Community Hospital,” she said.

It comes after LSV’s busiest weekend in 20 years earlier this month – there were 177 rescues statewide and almost half of those were on the Surf Coast and in Greater Geelong.

The 85 people rescued locally exceeded last year’s entire summer patrol season and many were at Jan Juc, including 10 on the afternoon of Saturday, January 4.

Originally published as Person rescued from near-drowning southwest of Lorne