A lifesaver who was one of the first on the scene of a drowning in the Royal National Park said warning signs were not enough to prevent further tragedies at the popular beach.
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A 20-year-old man drowned after jumping from the cliff into the lagoon with two friends at Wattamolla Beach shortly before 7pm on Thursday.
George Ordenes, who said he had been a lifesaver at Cronulla for about three years, was about to leave the beach with his wife and three children about 7pm when he noticed a man half on the temporary pontoon and half in the water.
"There were some people there. They said, 'We just saw him, we think he's drunk,' " Mr Ordenes said.
However, as soon as he began performing first aid, Mr Ordenes said he realised the man was in serious trouble.
"He wasn't drunk ... I realised he was drowning, because he started vomiting water and fluid," the lifesaver said.
Mr Ordenes said that, as he was helping the man, he yelled to his wife to call triple zero, as there was no phone signal on the beach.
"The man I was helping started to speak and tell me his name. He told me that two of his friends were missing, that he knows that one of them was in the water," Mr Ordenes said.
In the meantime, a second man was found in the car park, also vomiting fluids.
Afraid to leave the first man alone, the lifesaver said he had to wait until help arrived to start searching for the last man.
"The response was extremely quick, being a remote area. Within 15 minutes, 20 minutes that we called, we had helicopters and ambulance, the police," Mr Ordenes said.
After about a 15-minute search, Mr Ordenes said the man's body was found in the water, and brought to the pontoon.
"There was nothing to do," he said.
It's believed the man, a Bangladeshi national, did not know how to swim.
The two other men, aged 19 and 21, were taken to St George Hospital in a stable condition. Police said they remained in hospital under observation on Friday morning.
Sutherland Police Area Command Inspector Christopher Hill said visitors to Wattamolla Beach and other Royal National Park beaches needed to obey the warning signs in the area.
“This tragic death is another reminder of how the enjoyment of swimming at these spectacular locations can quickly become deadly,” the inspector said.
Signs along the cliff top at Wattamolla warn visitors not to jump into the water, but it remains a popular activity for swimmers.
Mr Ordenes said he regularly goes to Wattamolla, and always sees people jumping of the cliffs.
"The way I see it, basically, you could have a hundred signs and people would still do it," he said.
He said that, while it would not have helped save the man's life on Thursday night, flotation devices and an SOS phone on the beach would help in the future.
"The frustration I felt as a lifesaver, not being able to call for help, it’s huge," he said.
"I think what’s extremely necessary down there is to have an SOS phone, because you’ve got to drive up the hill probably seven minutes or more to get a mobile signal to help.
"There should also be floatation devices … just like we have at the harbours, to throw to people in distress."
It's not the first time a man has drowned after jumping off the cliff into the lagoon.
On Christmas Day in 2016, a 27-year-old drowned after jumping into the water. Despite a large response from emergency services, he could not be saved.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
