Tragedy has struck on Christmas Day after a man was found unconscious in the water at Lake Conjola on the South Coast.
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The man, understood to be a 46-year-old Korean national in Australia on a student visa, had been snorkelling at the eastern end of the lake when his family noticed he was missing and raised the alarm.
After a frantic search by family and bystanders the man was located and pulled unconscious from the water, police said.
Despite efforts to revive him from bystanders and NSW Ambulance paramedics, he was declared dead at the scene.
Officers from South Coast Police District attended and commenced inquiries, with a report to be prepared for the coroner.
It's the second drowning tragedy to hit an Australian family this Christmas, after a father and son drowned at a beach on Phillip Island in Victoria.
A Cranbourne East woman watched on helplessly from the shore at The Colonnades as her husband and adult son got caught in a rip and drowned on Christmas Eve. Her other young son managed to swim ashore.
Senior Sergeant Andy O’Brien of Cowes Police said the tragedy was an "all too common occurrence" at Phillip Island.
The stretch of beach where the family were swimming is never patrolled, he said.
Sergeant O'Brien said the deaths were not just a tragedy for the family but also for the first responders, and witnesses on the beach.
"It's tragic at anytime, but I think at this time of year it hits home particularly strongly with everyone involved," he said.
