A 28-year-old man is believed to have drowned after he was washed off rocks while fishing at Port Kembla last night.
Water Police and the PolAir helicopter were searching the ocean around Port Kembla Heritage Park this morning, after a large wave washed the man off rocks just after 9pm.
Police said they saw a body in the water last night, however the search was suspended at midnight due to rough ocean conditions.
Rock fishing accidents on the South Coast The Hurlstone Park man and a friend had arrived at the popular fishing spot about 4.30pm and, as the pair were packing up to leave, he was washed off the rocks.
The man's friend called triple zero at 9.20pm, before attempting to save the man.
"Police arrived a short time later and they believe they saw a person in the water but the bad surf meant they could not get to him," Sergeant John Klepczarek said.
"PolAir was called last night and they also did an extensive search however the conditions made it very difficult."
The search resumed at 7am today.
In March this year a 71-year-old father from Strathfield drowned while fishing late at night at Honeycomb Rocks at Port Kembla.
That man, from Sydney's south west, was fishing with his son when he was taken by a large wave and swept into the ocean.
A 2003 NSW Government Water Safety Taskforce report found 74 people lost their lives while rock-fishing along the state's coastline between 1992 and 2000.
The report named Port Kembla as one of eight rock-fishing black spots in the state.
For full coverage see Tuesday's Mercury
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