Four Indians Drowned at Unpatrolled Beach in Victoria

Four individuals, including two women, lost their lives in a tragic drowning incident at an unpatrolled beach in the Australian state of Victoria, marking the most devastating aquatic incident in Victorian waters in nearly two decades, according to authorities on Thursday. The unfortunate event unfolded on Wednesday at Phillip Island, Victoria, prompting emergency services to respond to distress calls about four individuals struggling in the water near Newhaven at approximately 3:30 pm on Wednesday, as reported by news.com.

Upon receiving the distress call, Life Saving Victoria was summoned to aid the four individuals in distress off Forrest Caves on Phillip Island, just a short distance from the patrolled lifeguard site, as stated by Kane Treloar, the Life Saving Victoria state agency commander.

Off-duty lifeguards, who happened to be present at the scene, managed to pull three of the distressed individuals from the water, while one of Life Saving Victoria’s rescue boats rescued the fourth person. Unfortunately, all four individuals were found unconscious and unresponsive. Immediate CPR efforts were initiated by the rescuers in an attempt to revive them. The authorities have not released the names of the victims.

Despite the collective efforts of the rescue team, three of the individuals succumbed to the incident, as confirmed by Treloar. The Indian High Commission in Canberra also shared the heartbreaking news on X.

On Thursday, Victoria Police Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Karen Nyholm disclosed that the victims included a man and two women in their 20s, along with a woman in her 40s. The victims were identified as an extended family group, with the 43-year-old woman who tragically passed away being on holiday in Australia. The other three victims were residents of the Melbourne suburb of Clyde. While three individuals, a man and two women, lost their lives at the scene, a woman in her 20s was rushed to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne but, sadly, also succumbed to the incident.

Nyholm expressed the profound impact this tragedy would have on the families involved, emphasizing the devastating loss of four lives in this unfortunate event.