UPDATE @ 4.00am April 28 | A man has died and another is in hospital after getting caught in rough surf at a Gold Coast beach.
Two men were pulled from the water by lifeguards at Main Beach around 3pm on Wednesday after getting into trouble.
One man, aged in his 40s, went into cardiac arrest and was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital in a critical condition, but later died.
The other man remains in hospital in a stable condition.
QAS Audio of Senior Operations Supervisor Adam Flory said it was a difficult operation for first responders.
“Queensland Ambulance responded with eight units, of those there was a number of specialised units that attended,” Mr Flory said
“Due to the nature of the incident, it was in an inaccessible section of the beach, and 4WD units were required to retrieve the patients from the beach.”
The pair had been swimming at an unpatrolled section of the beach and there are reports they had been told to get out of the water not long before the incident occurred.
Mr Flory said the tragedy was preventable.
“There’s a general message here for beachgoers,” he said.
“Don’t swim of a night, swim between the flags, swim on patrolled sections of the beach, follow the directions of lifeguards at all times.
“If you swim at an unpatrolled section of the beach and don’t follow the directions of lifeguards, you’re putting yourself at risk.
“But not only are you putting yourself at risk, you’re putting the safety of first responders ta risk as well.
“We want everyone to be safe, we want our guys to be safe as well.”
It’s unclear whether the pair were locals or tourists.
EARLIER @ 4.45pm, April 27 | Two men have been taken to hospital after a near-drowning in Main Beach.
The men in their 30’s were pulled from the water around 3.15pm today just off Seaworld Drive.
One man is in a critical condition, while the other is in a serious but stable condition.
Both men have been transported to the Gold Coast University Hospital.
Multiple paramedic crews including critical care, and high acuity response attended the scene.
#MainBeach – Multiple paramedic crews including bicycle response, critical care, and high acuity response are attending to a post-immersion incident off Seaworld Drive at 3.15pm.
— Queensland Ambulance (@QldAmbulance) April 27, 2022
