Search scaled back at Coogee for popular local bartender
Rescue teams have scaled back their search on Saturday morning for a Nepalese man swept out to sea at Coogee Beach on New Year’s Day.
- Updated
- National
- NSW
- Emergency services
Rescue teams have scaled back their search on Saturday morning for a Nepalese man swept out to sea at Coogee Beach on New Year’s Day, while colleagues praised the missing man as a “top guy”.
For two days, helicopters, several boats, a drone and surf lifesavers assisted divers in scouring nearby waters for Sushan Khadka, a student and bartender at the Coogee Pavilion in his 20s, who arrived in Australia about four years ago from Nepal.
The search sontinues for a swimmer missing after being swept out to sea at Coogee on New Year’s morning.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steven Pearce said on Friday the “significant show of force” at Coogee was focused on finding Khadka alive.
Investigators dropped green dye marker at the southern end of Coogee about 10am, as several divers tracked the currents while lifesavers on jet-skis crisscrossed the ocean.
But the search was scaled back on Saturday morning to foot patrols along the shoreline.
A staff member at Coogee Pavilion, who asked not to be named, said Khadka was a “top guy”.
“It’s really hard to process, with the search still going on. Awful. He was dedicated, a top guy.”
Khadka was among three people caught in a powerful rip after 6am on Thursday. The other two were rescued by off-duty lifesavers, while a police constable ran into the water fully clothed to try to save the submerged man as nearby swimmers attempted to keep him afloat.
A police officer and another rescuer dive into the ocean at Coogee Beach.Credit: Nine News
Rescuers were unable to bring him to shore, triggering a large search that continued into Thursday evening and was complicated by extreme surf conditions.
The rescue shocked hundreds of onlookers gathered by the Coogee foreshore to welcome the new year, as some swimmers were treated for shock after returning to the sand.
The Nepalese consulate confirmed it had been in contact with Khadka’s family after he went missing, and said it was monitoring the situation.
