As thousands of people crowded South Coast beaches to cool off from scorching heat the weekend proved “hectic” for the region’s life savers and paramedics with numerous rescues undertaken.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Sunday alone Surf Life Saving NSW volunteers attended to dozens of rescues across the Illawarra, some minor though some more serious.
A 33-year-old South Western Sydney man remained in a critical condition in Wollongong Hospital on Sunday evening, after a family swim at the unpatrolled MM Beach in Port Kembla turned nasty.
Just after 1pm on Sunday several members of the public pulled the unconscious man from the water and attempted CPR until NSW Ambulance paramedics arrived.
“[He] had apparently got into difficulty in the surf, they tried to revive him on the beach without success,” said Wollongong Local Area Command Acting Inspector Jack Brown.
He had been visiting the beach with his wife and young children.
Earlier that day a 25-year-old rock fisherman drowned after slipping on rocks at a fishing spot at Little Beecroft Head in the Shoalhaven. It is not believed he was wearing a floatation vest at the time.
He had been walking with two others who grabbed a nearby Angel Life Ring and jumped in to assist the unconscious man. Despite CPR attempts he could not be revived.
Meantime on Saturday evening a passer-by jumped into the water at Bellambi Beach to pull a man ashore who was caught unaware by the “power of the sea”.
"He was actually knee deep, so it wasn't an intentional thing, the wave just took him out," a resident told the Mercury.
It’s believed a lifesaver on a jet ski also helped retrieve the man who was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
A 48-year-old Western Sydney man is clinging to life in Wollongong Hospital after being pulled unconscious from the surf at Sandon Point on Saturday.
Life Saving NSW duty officer Anthony Turner said lifesavers were monitoring large crowds at all patrolled beaches with outposts setup at the far ends as well as having volunteers on jet skis to try and keep on “black spots”
For future beach-goers he urged people to “know their limitations and ability on the surf”.
“This highlights the need to swim at patrolled locations between red and yellow flags,” Mr Turner said.
“We have 17 patrolled beaches in Wollongong – people really need to make that effort to drive to a local patrolled beach.”
The Illawarra woke to a hot and humid Sunday with the Bureau reading 41.1 degrees at Albion Park at 10:50am. By 1:10pm Sydney was sweltering with 43.4 degrees while it was an unbearable 47.3 degrees in Penrith at 3:25pm.
The slight chance of rain expected Monday morning won’t do much cooling with the temperature expected to peak at 30, followed a week of warm and the chance of showers.
