4 Dead, 2 Missing After ‘Very Poor’ Surf Impacts Beaches on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day

Four people died and two others were reported missing off the coast of southeastern Australia within a 36-hour period, as dangerous surf battered some of the region’s most popular beaches during New Year celebrations.

The incidents unfolded on Wednesday, Dec. 31, and Thursday, Jan. 1, amid widespread holiday festivities in Australia and around the world. Surf conditions at the time were described as “very poor,” creating hazardous conditions for swimmers and boaters.

“This spate of drownings and rescues has caught everyone off guard over the New Year’s period,” said Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce.

Early Thursday morning, a 25-year-old woman was swept out to sea near Maroubra Beach around 4 a.m. local time after being hit by a wave and knocked into a tidal rock pool. Authorities said her body was recovered about an hour later. Police identified the woman as a Chinese tourist.

Later that same day, just before 3 p.m., a 45-year-old woman died after getting into difficulty in the water at Dunbogan Beach, according to police.

On Wednesday, a separate tragedy occurred in Queensland, where a 35-year-old Irish man was found dead in the water at Whitehaven Beach near the Great Barrier Reef around 11 a.m. local time. Police described the incident as a drowning.

Also on Wednesday, emergency crews responded to reports that a boat had capsized near Barrenjoey Headland at Palm Beach around 11:35 a.m. A man was pulled from the water by surf lifesavers and treated by paramedics but died at the scene. A second man was rescued after climbing onto nearby rocks.

Authorities continue to search for a teenage boy believed to have been a passenger on the capsized boat.

In a separate incident, police are also searching for a man in his 20s who disappeared after getting into trouble in the water at Coogee Beach around 6 a.m. The man, a Nepalese national who had been living in Sydney for four years, reportedly entered the water with three others for a New Year’s swim.

According to local officials, the group was swept off their feet by large surf. Three people managed to return to shore with assistance from off-duty responders, but one man was unable to make it back. He was later found unconscious in the water, briefly assisted by witnesses, and then lost again.

Rescue services reported an unusually high number of emergencies during the holiday period. Nineteen rescues were carried out on Wednesday alone, with another 85 conducted between Christmas Day and Dec. 30.

“We are pleading with people—do not enter the water if that beach is closed,” Pearce said, urging the public to heed safety warnings as dangerous conditions persist.