Man critically injured at Brisbane’s artificial lagoon in near-drowning

A beachgoer is in hospital with life-threatening injuries after a horror incident at a busy inner-city tourist attraction.

A man is fighting for life after a horror incident at a popular tourist attraction in Brisbane.

The man was found at the bottom of the artificial lagoon at South Bank in the CBD on Monday afternoon.

Temperatures in Brisbane reached 31C on the public holiday.

The artificial lagoon, alongside the Brisbane River. Picture: Google

The alarm was raised about 4.50pm on Monday.

Emergency services rushed to Streets Beach at the South Bank Parklands.

Paramedics treated the man in his 20s for life-threatening immersion-related symptoms.

He was taken to nearby Mater Hospital.

The lagoon is free and patrolled by lifeguards year-round.

The facility opened in 1992, and at least six people had drowned as of 2012, and it appears nobody has drowned there in the past 12 years.

On the same day in 2013 a nine-year-old boy who was knocked unconscious and a 33-year-old drunk man both nearly drowned. Those incidents prompted the council to install extra hand railing.

Originally published as Man critically injured at Brisbane’s artificial lagoon in near-drowning