A man has drowned while attempting to rescue his daughter from the surf at Lennox Head overnight.
Police have been told a couple and their three children were only in shallow water at Seven Mile Beach about 6.30pm (Wednesday, 18 January, 2023), when their 11-year-old daughter was swept out to sea on a body board.
Her father, aged 45, swam out to her but was unable to bring them back to shore. His wife also swam out and she and the girl were able to reach the beach and alert authorities.
Two police officers, who were first on the scene, entered the surf in an attempt to find the man but were unsuccessful.
The man was retrieved from the surf about 7pm by surf lifesavers.
NSW Ambulance paramedics initiated CPR but were unable to revive the man and he died at the scene.
The woman and her daughter were treated by paramedics and allowed to go home.
The family is from Lennox Head; officers from Richmond Police District have alerted the Irish Consulate of the man’s death.
Seven Mile Beach was not patrolled at the time.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.
This drowning is so sad. The danger of these beaches that face the open sea like Brunswick, Lighthouse, Maroubra, Surfers P/Main Beach are very dangerous during the onshore summer wind & tides that gives the surf a massive amount of push/power that is very deceptive. From shore it looks ok to wade in to your knees, the break is well out of harms way, so you wade out to your waist, then the sand bank slides out from your feet then before you know you are in deep water in an out going current. Now you are in deep shite. You are sucked out to sea that is frightening until you can get back to shore some 200yds down the beach, but there are very few people that have that calm rational reasoning/experience that get back on sand safely. You will need to be a Guy Leech or Trevor Hendy. If you are on a surf craft with minimal experience and paddle out to blue water, that can be fatal. Lighthouse beach is the most powerful wave for its size I have ever surfed. OPEN BEACHES are a very dangerous option. Good health & enjoy your summer, SAFELY! WITH THOUGHT. as an 11yo 1963 us Mullum kids we lived on the beach & surf club at Brunswick. !964 we all got mals and progressed to The Pass in Sth swells, but not howling Nth swell and wind. We were a group of little boys carrying our 9’4″boards on our head or doubled-up. Born was the verbal abuse “sea weed sucking wax heads”.