SYDNEY, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Two men have drowned in separate incidents in Australia on Boxing Day.
In a statement, police in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) said that emergency services responded to reports that members of the public were performing CPR on a man who had been pulled from the water at a beach in Kiama, 90 km south of Sydney, at 5:00pm local time on Thursday.
Local police officers attended the scene and assisted in CPR efforts until ambulance crews arrived, NSW Police said on Friday, but the man could not be revived and died at the scene.
The 52-year-old was swimming with an 18-year-old male relative when they became caught in a rip, a strong current that pulls out to sea.
"Several members of the public entered the surf and removed the pair from the water. The 18-year-old man was uninjured," NSW Police said.
Hours earlier in the state of Victoria, a man who has not yet been identified drowned after falling out of a kayak into the water at Balnarring Beach, 65 km south of Melbourne, at 1:00 pm.
Victoria Police said that bystanders pulled the man from the water and paramedics tried to revive the man but he died at the scene.
Both incidents occurred on Boxing Day, a busy day at beaches across Australia.
According to the Royal Life Saving Society, 82 percent of all drowning deaths in Australia between 2002 and 2022 were males.
The society advises Australians and visitors to the country to stay safe, only swimming at beaches that are patrolled by lifeguards. ■
