Australian holiday-makers are being urged to be vigilant after a number of deaths and serious incidents in coastal and inland waters over the Christmas period.
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* Sunday, December 25
- A 19-year-old man drowned near Lorne in Victoria's southwest after running into trouble while bodysurfing with two other men at an unpatrolled beach at the mouth of the Cumberland River. CPR was performed but he died at the scene.
- A 36-year-old man died at the scene after being pulled from the Hawkesbury River near Windsor Bridge in northwestern Sydney on Sunday afternoon.
- A 33-year-old man went missing while swimming in Black Diamond Lake in southwest WA. His body was recovered by search teams on Monday afternoon.
* Monday, December 26
- A man in his 30s was pulled unresponsive from Lake Hume near Albury Wodonga on the NSW-Victorian border. He is thought to have suffered a medical episode while chasing his dog into the water. Onlookers pulled the man to shore and performed CPR, but he later died in hospital.
- A 17-year-old boy died near Mordialloc in Melbourne's south on Monday afternoon, after efforts to revive him failed.
- A 73-year-old South Australian woman was unable to be revived after being pulled unconscious from waters at Seacliff, south of Adelaide, around 7pm on Monday.
- On Boxing Day night, two sisters aged 10 and 11 were rescued by police officers and a good Samaritan at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne's southeast.
* Tuesday, December 27
- A five-year-old girl was pulled from Lake Nagambie in central Victoria but was unable to be revived.
- Two teenage girls died in a boating incident in Tamworth in northeastern NSW. The pair were being towed behind a boat on an inflatable when they hit a tree stump.
- A scuba diver in his sixties was recovered unconscious in waters near Swansea, south of Newcastle in NSW on Tuesday afternoon, but was unable to be resuscitated.
- NSW emergency services responded to calls a man became submerged in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga. The search is ongoing.
* Wednesday, December 28
A man in his 40s drowned at Surfers Paradise beach in Queensland. Police say initial information suggests he and an 11-year-old boy came into trouble in the water and were rescued by lifeguards, but the man was unable to be revived by paramedics.
ROYAL LIFESAVING AUSTRALIA NUMBERS:
* This summer 16 people have drowned, including six children and four young people aged between 18 and 34, according to Royal Lifesaving Australia.
* Half occurred in inland waterways and almost a third were in coastal waters.
* One death occurred in a backyard swimming pool and another in a public swimming pool in December.
* Last summer 145 people drowned, making it the worst summer in over 20 years.
Australian Associated Press
