Austinmer Beach: Eight people rescued after being caught in a rip at the swimming spot on the NSW south coast
Eight people were pulled from a rip at a popular beach within five minutes of each other in two separate rescues as temperatures soared on Australia Day.
Seven teenagers and another man were rescued separately after getting into trouble at Austinmer Beach on the NSW south coast about 8am.
The teenage boys and girls are believed to have traveled from south-west Sydney to swim at the beach, which was closed and unguarded at the time, police said. Illawarra Mercury.
Members of the public and local surfers noticed the group had been caught in a rip and raised the alarm.
“The majority were panicking and trying to get back in,” Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner told the Mercury.
Shortly after the group was rescued, a man in his early twenties was caught in the same crack and had to be rescued by a member of the public.
It was believed he was visiting the beach from Chatswood in Sydney's northern suburbs.
Seven teenagers and another man were rescued separately after getting into trouble at Austinmer Beach on the NSW south coast about 8am.
All eight swimmers were treated by paramedics after swallowing water and suffering from exhaustion.
The severe ocean rift caused 60 other people to also be evacuated from the sea and warned not to swim until life-saving patrols began at 9am.
Mr Turner urged the public to only swim between red and yellow flags on patrolled beaches.
On December 11, eight people were rescued from a crack on the beach.
The incident comes two days after a nurse, two students and a woman on holiday from India died in one of Victoria's worst drowning tragedies when they fell into a rip at Forrest Caves Beach on Phillip Island on Wednesday.
Melbourne nurse Jagjeet Singh, 23, university students Kirti Bedi and Suhani Anand, both 20, and Reema Sondhi, 43, all died after being pulled from the water.
They were all members of one extended family.
Reema Sondhi, 43, died along with Melbourne nurse Jagjeet Singh, 23, university students Kirti Bedi and Suhani Anand, both 20, when they were caught in a rip at Forrest Caves Beach on Phillip Island on Wednesday.
Victoria Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm said the Forrest Caves Beach area was known for dangerous surfing conditions.
“Yesterday afternoon there was an extended family at the beach and four of those family members decided to wade in the water,” she said.
“The waters down here are known for their rifts and treacherous conditions and unfortunately those four people have been swept into what we believe is a rift condition.”
A rip is a very strong and narrow current that pulls the water back to sea. They can pull swimmers from the beach at a speed of about one to two meters per second.