Near fatal beach tragedies prompt police warning

INVERLOCH police are deeply alarmed after several people have already been rescued while swimming at the beach in the past week.
With an influx of visitors to the area, police are urging beachgoers to take extreme care, especially inexperienced and young swimmers, and to always swim between the flags if possible.
Sergeant Adrian Condron said fortunately none of the incidents resulted in a fatality, but police are concerned by the trend.
“Already we’ve had several rescues of people at Inverloch Surf Beach and Inlet,” Sgt Condron said.
“There were three people rescued on Christmas Day and since then there’s been another three rescued.
“Yesterday (Tuesday, December 28), we had two 12-year-old boys rescued by a passer-by and a man using a private boat.
“The two boys attempted to swim from the inlet.
“We’re looking at trying to raise the publics’ vigilance and attention to water safety and being aware of what their children are up to.
“We encourage people to swim between the flags as much as possible.”
Sgt Condron also noted that of the recent rescues, some were nearly fatal.
“If people are swimming in the inlet or trying to swim across the sand bar, it’s a long way away from the lifesaving patrol,” he said.
“They’re really relying on the public to step in until surf lifesaving arrives.
“We want to avoid any of those tragedies if we can.”
Sgt Condron said it was also a timely reminder for motorists to be cautious on the roads as local traffic increases.