Teen suffers serious injuries in horror wave dumping at Noosa Heads
A teenage boy has suffered back and neck injuries while swimming at a popular Noosa beach, with the latest incident following a spate of tragedies along the coastline over the past few weeks.
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A teenager has suffered back and neck injuries while swimming at a popular Noosa beach.
This incident follows a woman being pulled from the surf just a day after a man died while swimming at Mooloolaba and the drowning of a man at Mudjimba.
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokeswoman said the boy was in his early teens.
He was swimming in the surf at Noosa Heads when he was dumped by a wave about 10am.
The boy suffered serious neck and back injuries and was transported to Noosa Hospital.
Previously, on Sunday afternoon, a man drowned after being caught in a rip on an unpatrolled Sunshine Coast beach.
The 61-year-old man from Fernbrook, NSW died while swimming with a 22-year-old woman also from Fernbrook, NSW, believed to be his daughter, north of Mudjimba Beach about 3.10pm.
The man died at the scene while the younger woman was taken by ambulance to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
Surf lifesavers told media the pair became "distressed" with the Discovery Beach Lifeguard Tower alerted.
Members from the Mudjimba Surf Life Saving Patrol joined the rescue effort and removed them from the water.
The man was unconscious when pulled from the water, the ABC reported.
Paramedics did CPR but despite resuscitation efforts, the man died at the scene.
His daughter was assessed by paramedics and taken to Sunshine Coast University Hospital in a stable condition.
A Queensland Police Service spokesman advised that a report will be prepared for the coroner following the death of the man.
About an hour after the north shore drowning, a woman was pulled from the surf at a Maroochydore beach.
The woman in her 40s was retrieved from the water in a serious but stable condition at a beach off Alexandra Pde at 4.15pm.
A Surf Life Saving Queensland spokesman said the woman was allegedly swimming in water at an unpatrolled section of the beach.
“A female was swimming at an unpatrolled location approximately 400m north of the Maroochydore SLSC Flags,” the spokesman said.
“A member of the public alerted the Maroochydore SLSC patrol members to a swimmer in distress, the patrol responded immediately.
“The female was removed from the water and received treatment from Maroochydore SLSC patrol.
“Queensland Ambulance Service were in close proximity and promptly assisted.”
A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesman said the woman was transported to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Mudjimba Beach to Marcoola is known for strong sweeps and rips that keep lifesavers and lifeguards on alert.
Swimmers are often urged to stay at waist deep depth while parents are told to watch their children closely.
The Mudjimba drowning is the second in less than a week for the Sunshine Coast.
Last Monday, a 62-year-old Kewarra Beach man, drowned at Mooloolaba Beach after diving into a water in between the flags.
Emergency services were called to the Mooloolaba Esplanade just after 12.30pm. The man was pulled from the water in a critical condition but could not be fully revived
Sunshine Coast chief lifeguard Anthony King confirmed the man was swimming between the flags.
“His daughter saw him dive under a wave and then he never resurfaced,” Mr King said at the time.
“At this stage it’s looking like a suspected medical incident or spinal injury.”
The drowning was followed by a woman being seriously injured after being dumped by a man at the same beach the next day.
Those two events have sparked fresh calls for an artificial reef to reduce injury-causing dumping waves and offer an alternative solution to a planned controversial concrete seawall at a popular Sunshine Coast beach.
Beach advocate Rachael Bermingham said an artificial reef designed well, reduced the wave energy before it gets to shore.
“The wave hits the artificial reef first to take the brunt of its power, and ambles over the reef so it’s safer by the time it hits the beach.”
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