NSW drownings toll rises after desperate attempts to save spearfisher
The man was pulled unresponsive from the water at a remote beach south of Wollongong after he was tangled in a float line.
2 hours agoSat 3 Jan 2026 at 1:48am
The drowning occurred at Lobster Bay Beach, near Currarong, on the NSW South Coast. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
In short:
A spearfisherman has died after becoming tangled in a float line while fishing off the New South Wales South Coast.
It's the fourth drowning in the state since New Year's Eve.
What's next?
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
A man has died after he was pulled from the water on the New South Wales South Coast.
Emergency services were called to Lobster Bay Beach, Shoalhaven about 12:40pm on Friday and found a man, believed to be in his 50s, unresponsive after members of the public pulled him from the water.
Surf lifesavers say the man was spearfishing when he became tangled in a float line off the remote beach, near Currarong, south of Wollongong.
NSW Ambulance services and a rescue helicopter responded and paramedics performed CPR, but the man died at the scene.
A tribute has been laid at walking track leading down to Lobster Bay Beach. (ABC Illawarra: Romy Gilbert)
Police have established a crime scene and an investigation has started.
Police have told the ABC the man's family were at the beach at the time.
South Coast Police District Acting Inspector Teneille Keith says it is important to make a plan before getting into water.
“While we have welcomed a beautiful summer, it is also the peak season of drowning incidents," she said.
"Please stay alert to the weather conditions and decide whether you should go into the water.
"Severe weather is a big challenge, even to experienced divers.”
Drowning toll on the rise
The death is the state's fourth drowning since New Year's Eve.
On Thursday, Berowra Heights woman Melissa Austin died at Dunbogan Beach, Camden Haven, on the Mid North Coast while trying to save her son from a rip.
That morning, a 25-year-old woman drowned when she was swept off rocks and into a tidal pool at Maroubra Beach.
Meanwhile, authorities have suspended searches for a 14-year-old boy and a man missing off Palm Beach and Coogee Beach in Sydney.