Overview

• Five people have drowned, including a fisherman at Tathra on Saturday, and two remain missing off the coasts of New South Wales and Victoria.
• A multi-agency search continues for a 24-year-old man swept off rocks at Little Bay Beach in Sydney and a 41-year-old man missing at San Remo, Victoria.
• The hazardous surf conditions, caused by a deep low-pressure system in the Tasman Sea, have triggered beach closures and safety warnings across the east coast.
• Authorities and life-saving organizations are urging the public to avoid unpatrolled beaches, wear life jackets, and heed weather and surf warnings.
• Easter holiday periods historically see a spike in drowning incidents, with 118 lives lost over the past 20 years, underscoring the importance of water safety measures.