Sydney, Jan 15 Two people have drowned in separate accidents in Western Australia (WA).
Police in WA said on Wednesday that a man aged in his 40s drowned at a beach on the state's south coast on Monday while trying to rescue two children.
The man was among four adults who entered the water at Native Dog Beach, over 400 km southeast of Perth, to assist the children just after 2 pm local time on Monday before encountering difficulty.
He became unresponsive and was carried to the shore by members of the public who performed first aid.
Emergency services were called to the scene and ambulance crews took the man to a nearby medical center, but he could not be revived.
Both children and the other three adults returned to shore safely, police said.
Less than 24 hours later, at Lake Leschenaultia, about 50 km east of Perth, a 17-year-old boy became trapped under a pontoon at about 2 pm on Tuesday.
His twin brother raised the alarm and dozens of swimmers and locals with scuba gear tried to rescue him, Xinhua news agency reported.
Police divers found the 17-year-old about 45 minutes after the alarm was raised.
Emergency first aid was administered, but he could not be revived.
According to the Royal Life Saving Society, 55 people have drowned across Australia since the start of summer on December 1, 2024.
Royal Life Saving Australia earlier in December warned that the period between Christmas Day and New Year's Day is the deadliest time of year for drowning in Australia.
It said that 26 percent of all drowning deaths in the summer of 2023-24 occurred in that period.
On January 1, local police authorities revealed that two women had drowned in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland.
In the first incident, a 53-year-old woman fell into fast-moving water and did not resurface, triggering a search operation involving a helicopter, drone and water rescue crews. She was later found dead.
In the second mishap, a woman died in a scuba diving incident at the Wave Break Island, a popular swimming, snorkeling and diving spot 60 km southeast of Brisbane.
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