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Three people have drowned in Australia since the new year started, and two people are missing and feared dead, as rescue crews resume water searches and multiple beaches remain locked down.
Two women have died in NSW off the coast, and an Irish national drowned at a popular Queensland tourist beach.
Surf Life Saving NSW CEO Steve Pearce described the death toll so far for 2026 as “absolutely horrendous”.
“Three confirmed drownings, and potentially another two with those searches continuing for two gentlemen … means we potentially have lost five people within 24 hours,” he told Sydney’s 2GB radio on Friday.
The tragic start to 2026 began on eastern Sydney beaches when emergency services were called to Maroubra at 4am on Thursday.
Witnesses told police a 25-year-old woman, believed to be a Chinese national, had been hit by a wave that knocked her into a tidal rock pool before further waves swept her into the Pacific Ocean.
At 5 a.m., the woman was discovered, but efforts to revive her were unsuccessful.
At nearby Coogee Beach, surf lifesavers on jet skis were searching for a missing swimmer after emergency services were alerted just after 6am on Thursday.
Television news footage showed a fully clothed police officer entering the water to try to save the 25-year-old man, but he slipped away. Two other people were rescued.
The search and rescue mission for the missing swimmer is continuing with jet skis and several marine police watercraft deployed, but there are grave fears for the man’s survival.
On Thursday afternoon, a 45-year-old woman was pulled from the water off Dunbogan Beach on the NSW mid north coast, but she could not be revived.
Further north in Queensland’s Whitsundays, a 35-year-old Irish man was found dead in the water on New Year’s Eve at Whitehaven Beach.
These tragic events come in the wake of a man’s death in Sydney on New Year’s Eve, following the capsizing of a dinghy at Palm Beach.
Two men and a 14-year-old boy were in the vessel when it overturned in rough conditions around Barrenjoey Headland at around 11:35am.
A man was pulled from the water by surf lifesavers and treated by paramedics, but he died at the scene, and the second man was winched to safety by helicopter.
A major search operation for the missing teenager continues, although its intensity has been reduced.
‘Extremely dangerous’ conditions
NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib said swimmers should not dismiss the “extremely dangerous” conditions across the state’s coastline.
“I’m urging everyone to please make safe decisions, look out for each other and respect the conditions,” he said.
Since Christmas Day, NSW surf lifesavers have performed more than 85 rescues.
A hazardous surf warning has been issued for most of the state’s beaches, with Pearce pleading with people not to jump in the water.
“If you enter, you’re effectively putting your own life at risk today,” he warned.
Over the New Year period, the risk of drowning is three times greater than at any other time of the year.
