18.2 C
Byron Shire
March 29, 2024

Surfer confirmed drowned at Fingal Head

Latest News

Resilient Lismore’s ‘Repair to Return’ funding

On the eve of the second anniversary of the second devastating flood in 2022, Resilient Lismore has welcomed the finalisation of its funding deed with the NSW Reconstruction Authority, which will enable the continuation of its ‘Repair to Return’ program.

Other News

Save Wallum finalist in NSW 2024 environment awards

The Save Wallum campaign has been named as a finalist in the Nature Conservation Council of NSW Environment Awards 2024. The award ceremony will be held in Sydney tonight, and Save Wallum spokesperson and ecologist James Barrie will be attending with Tegan Kitt, another founding member of the group.

Bruns-Billinudgel RSL marches on

Though recently the membership of the Brunswick Heads–Billinudgel RSL sub-Branch has grown, the numbers are still very low and if there is not a continual increase, this chapter faces closing.

Laid-back but lively

Ooz is an acoustic roots reggae artist with a large, eclectic repertoire of crowd favourites. His unique, laid-back but lively style creates a relaxed atmosphere and his song choices have you remembering many of those forgotten classics.

What the duck!

Most days I ask myself ‘what the duck’ is happening here? How could Trump be president again if he...

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

Floodplains

We need a serious talk about development on floodplains with more creativity and sophistication. The recent discussion about development...

Fingal Head rock platform. Photo geolocation.ws
Fingal Head, where treacherous surf conditions took the life of a surfer on Sunday, October 22. Photo geolocation.ws

A man has tragically drowned after he went missing while bodyboarding at Fingal Beach near Tweed Heads on Sunday.

It is understood that the local man aged in his early 20s was bodyboarding with a group of friends at the northern headland at around 11:30am when got into difficulty.

Police have been he lost his board and attempted to climb onto the rocks.

This prompted a large-scale multi-agency rescue operation with the State Operations Centre co-ordinating the tasking of NSW assets.

Surf Lifesavers from Cudgen Headland, Fingal Rovers, and Cabarita emergency callout teams all volunteered their services and manned inflatable rescue boats (IRB) during the operation, which was led by NSW Police, and also included Marine Rescue craft.

At the peak of the search, there were five IRBS on the water, along with jet skis from the Far North Coast Support Operations Branch and from Queensland.

Additionally a helicopter from Queensland was also tasked to assist in the search and it was from there that they were able to locate the missing man.

At around 1:30pm, some two hours after the incident began, the man was located approximately 200 metres north of the headland and 100 metres out to sea.

He was pulled into an IRB and transported to shore where CPR was commenced but unfortunately all attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.

At the time of the incident conditions were described as challenging with a strong wind onshore and consistent waves of around 1.5 metres.

Surf Life Saving NSW state duty officer Jimmy Keogh praised the efforts of all those involved in the rescue effort and noted the outstanding support from Queensland ahead of what is shaping up to be a busy summer.

‘All the lifesavers involved went above and beyond in their efforts to both locate and then try to save the missing man.

‘What was really pleasing was how well all the agencies co-operated in what was a challenging and emotional situation as there were a lot of assets out on the water. I know they worked really hard to get a positive outcome.

‘Unfortunately we didn’t have the outcome we wanted and our sincere condolences go to the man’s family and friends in this difficult time,’ said Mr Keogh.

The lifesavers involved will participate in a critical incident debrief.

Investigations into the circumstances surrounding the incident are continuing with a report to be prepared for the coroner.

 


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Editorial – Joyous propaganda! 

The NSW Labor government marked its one year in office this week with a jubilant statement of achievements issued from Macquarie Street HQ.

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Making Lismore Showground accessible to everyone

The Lismore Showground isn’t just a critical local community asset that plays host to a number of major events each year, but has also been used as an evacuation centre during past natural disasters in the region.