Overview
- At Palm Beach, a large-scale operation to find a 14-year-old from a capsized dinghy has entered a third day, with the search scaled back to coastal patrols after one man died at the scene and another was winched from rocks to hospital in stable condition.
- Police and Surf Life Saving resumed efforts at Coogee for a man in his 20s swept out on New Year’s Day, with parts of the operation treated as a recovery as conditions improved enough to return to the water.
- Hazard alerts eased on Friday after the Bureau of Meteorology cancelled hazardous surf warnings for most of the NSW coast, though a strong wind warning remained for the Eden Coast.
- The holiday period brought a cluster of fatalities: a 25-year-old woman at Maroubra early on New Year’s Day, a 45-year-old woman at Dunbogan on the Mid North Coast, and a 35-year-old Irish tourist at Whitehaven Beach in Queensland.
- Surf Life Saving NSW reported more than 85 rescues between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day and said the recent drownings occurred at unpatrolled sites, reinforcing calls to swim between the flags and avoid closed beaches.