Woman, man drown at regional WA beach after being caught in rip

Two people have drowned and a third person has hospitalised after being pulled from the water at a picturesque beach.

Two people have drowned and a third person has been taken to hospital after they were caught in a dangerous current at a beach in Western Australia.

All three people were caught in a rip at the relatively remote beach Conspicuous Cliff beach, near the southwest town of Walpole, on Saturday.

In a statement, WA Police say the alarm was raised about 2.40pm when the trio were seen to be in distress in the water.

Members of the public had pulled the group out of the water by the time police arrived.

Officers commenced CPR but a 40-year-old woman and 44-year-old man could not be revived.

They had been travelling with another man in his 40s who was resuscitated and taken to hospital.

Conspicuous Cliff beach is on a notoriously dangerous stretch of ocean. Picture: Google

“All three adults are known to each other and were visiting from the Perth area,” police said in a statement.

Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Conspicuous Cliff is around 100km west of Albany on a rugged stretch of the WA coast that is exposed to strong seas and massive swells.

Royal Life Saving Australia data shows the number of drownings has spiked this year.

There were 14 deaths in the first three weeks of summer this year, which is higher than the death toll for the same period in 2023.

The current death rate is 20 per cent higher than the five-year average.

The data shows that more than 80 per cent of drowning victims are men and more than 80 per cent of drowning victims were not born in Australia.

Rivers and creeks account for a quarter of all drownings, while about 20 per cent occur at Australian beaches.

Originally published as Woman, man drown at regional WA beach after being caught in rip