After the recent death of a French tourist due to drowning, Queensland officials give warning to those swimming on Sunshine Coast beach.
Tragedy struck on the Sunshine Coast in Australia on Wednesday when a French backpacker died after being pulled from the water at Stumers Creek, near Coolum Beach. The 27-year-old woman was rescued alongside a 30-year-old man, believed to be her boyfriend, after they got into trouble while swimming. Despite the efforts of lifesavers to save the woman with CPR, she later passed away in the hospital.
“We did get a pulse back on her and she was transported to Sunshine Coast University Hospital under lights and sirens,” said Queensland ambulance senior operations supervisor, Dianne Rigby.
The man was also struggling in the water and had to be brought to shore. Authorities have warned that Stumers Creek may look inviting, but it is actually a dangerous place to swim due to the rocks offshore that can create unpredictable and rough surf. Lifesavers have advised people to avoid entering the water there.
“The information is they were both getting into a bit of trouble, I believe the gentleman attempted to assist his girlfriend but he got into so much trouble that he was about to drown himself so he needed to come to shore,” Rigby said.
Swimming-related calls to paramedics have been on the rise in the Sunshine Coast area, particularly during the summer holidays. According to Queensland Ambulance senior operations supervisor Dianne Rigby, there have been over 20 beach or water-related callouts in the first five days of the new year alone. Rough surf conditions have also contributed to the increase in incidents.
“There‘s been a huge increase in those type of cases as we tend to get over the summer holidays but this year there’s been a very high number of beach and water-related cases,” Rigby continued.
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“The surf has been really rough lately … people think that they‘re strong swimmers but they really need to be cautious,” she said.
Authorities strongly urged people to follow warning signs and pay attention to the color of flags posted on the beach. It is also not recommended to swim after consuming alcohol.
“Listen to warnings, look at the colour of the flag … we certainly don‘t recommend swimming after you’ve had alcohol.”
