Edited by Deepali Verma
A mass drowning incident at an unpatrolled beach on Phillip Island in Australia’s Victoria has resulted in the death of four Bharatiya citizens, as notified by the Indian High Commission in Canberra on January 25.
“Heart breaking tragedy in Australia: 4 Bharatiya citizens lost their lives in a drowning incident at Phillip Island, Victoria. My deepest condolences to the families of the victims. @cgimelbourne team is currently in touch with the acquaintance of the deceased for all the due assistance,” the Indian High Commission wrote on social media platform X.
Distress calls were received by the Emergency services at approximately 3:30 pm on January 24, that reported four individuals being in distress in the water. The three women and a man were unresponsive after being pulled from the water.
Irrespective of the immediate and intensive efforts to revive them through CPR, three of the individuals were pronounced dead on the spot, said the police.
The list of victims include a man and two women aged in their 20s, while the third woman was in her 40s, all as a part of an extended family group.
Three of the victims lost their lives at the scene, while the third woman in her 20s was airlifted to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne in a rather than a critical condition. However, she later failed to survive because of her injuries.
As per the local media reports, the 43-year-old woman was holidaying in Australia while the other three were residents of the country.
Forrest Caves Beach is a well-known tourist destination popular for its sea caves, but it has garnered a reputation among locals as a dangerous swimming spot, devoid of lifeguard patrols, as per the Australian media.
Concerns regarding the safety of the location were raised on social media, with one local warning that increased promotion of Phillip Island as a tourist destination could lead to more incidents.
“If the island continues to be pushed as a tourist destination there will be increasing incidents,” a local resident wrote on social media.
