At least six people died in Australia while imposing waves beat Sydney and other places along the east coast of the country during the Easter holiday weekend, police said.
A low pressure system brought powerful surfing from Friday and waves over 24 feet were recorded off the Côtes de Brisbane in the state of Queensland on Friday, according to government data.
The Australia Meteorological Agency had issued a dangerous surf warning for a long stretch in Queensland in New South Wales which includes Sydney, Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, and warned that the conditions could be dangerous for fishing, boating and swimming.
As the dangerous surf warning was lifted on Sunday, five people died in New South Wales, including in Sydney, and another in the state of Victoria, officials said. Two other people were missing.
On Sunday morning, a man who was fishing in Wattamolla, about 20 miles south of Sydney, died after being swept in the sea, said police in South New Wales. A 14 -year -old boy who was with him was saved from water and hospitalized in a stable state.
The man was the fifth to drown in the state since Friday, according to the Southern New Wales police. The five deaths, between the southern coast of New South Wales and the north of Sydney, were men who, according to the police, were fishing or walked on rocks along the coast when they fell or were swept in the ocean.
Another man remained missing after being swept in the ocean while walking with friends on rocks in Little Bay Beach in Sydney on Friday, police announced on Saturday.
According to Royal Life Saving Australia, a non-profit organization that promotes water safety, 128 people have drowned in New South Wales in 2024. About half of these drownings occurred along the coasts.
In Victoria, a woman died on Friday morning after being washed from the rocks in San Remo, a city on the southern coast of the State, the state police announced. Another man and a woman were also swept away. The woman returned to the ground, but the man was always missing.