Four people swimming after patrol hours during hazardous surf conditions have needed to be rescued at North Wollongong beach.
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Surf Life Saving spokesman Anthony Turner said the two incidents on Tuesday night became "bigger than Ben Hur" with assistance from multiple emergency services including a rescue helicopter, along with help from the public.
Around 7pm a man and woman got into trouble at the popular beach and were swiftly rescued by an off-duty lifeguard.
NSW Ambulance and Surf Life Saving had been called by members of the public who attended the scene - by which time the man and woman had made it to dry land, but another two swimmers had then gotten into trouble.
Public beachgoers were able to help the latter two male swimmers back to shore.
Wollongong police also attended the location, with a rescue helicopter tasked to "sweep the area" searching for any other people who also may have struck trouble in the powerful conditions.
Earlier in the day another major rescue occurred in the northern Illawarra after three people were thrown from their boat near Otford Lookout.
Stanwell Park and Wollongong volunteer Surf Life Savers attended the scene and assisted in bringing them in.
Mr Turner said while it had been a slow start to the season for Surf Life Savers, they had been kept on their toes the past week with warm weather, large beach crowds and hectic surf conditions thanks to x-tropical cyclone Seth.
"It highlights the importance to not go swimming when beaches are unpatrolled ... Tuesday's events could have ended tragically," he said.
It's been the busiest period in five years for NSW Life Savers with a record number of incidents, rescues and preventative actions up and down the coastline.
On Tuesday alone, the SLSNSW's State Operations Centre logged 60 incidents, the most ever received in a single day.
Of those logged, an unsuccessful CPR attempt at Park Beach in Coffs Harbour was among 197 rescues, 6,923 preventative actions and 24 emergency incidents.
On the Central Coast, multiple calls for persons in distress in the water at The Entrance were answered by patrol and the Westpac Helicopter. All persons were removed from the water while ambulance was called for one patient.
It comes after Saturday and Sunday produced dozens of high category incidents and saw a further two fatalities - two rock fishermen at Warriewood and Windang.
"What we have seen over the past three days has never been seen before on NSW beaches," Surf Life Saving NSW President, George Shales said.
"The sheer volume of incidents, rescues and preventative actions has shone a light on lifeguards and volunteer lifesavers up and down the coastline and highlighted just how lucky we are to have dedicated, well-resourced individuals looking out for our safety on the beach.
"It's important, though, to remember that we also must look out for our own safety and make smart decisions when we head to the coastline. That begins with choosing to visit a patrolled beach and swimming between the red and yellow flags."
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