A hazardous surf warning is in place for the Sydney coastline on Thursday morning, as the Bureau of Meteorology urges swimmers to stay away from the water and areas exposed to the surf amid an elevated risk of danger.
Boat crews are warned against crossing shallow waters and ocean bars, while rock fishers are encouraged to find platforms without direct exposure to rough surf.
Mahon Pool, Maroubra, on New Year’s morning.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
The surf warning has also been activated on the Hunter Coast, Macquarie Coast, Coffs Coast and Byron Coast, and will remain in place until at least Thursday evening.
Northern Beaches services co-ordinator Steve Downman warned against swimming on Thursday, saying that Sydney beachgoers would be met with “walls and walls of white water” packing large and powerful waves.
“Going down to the beach today is probably not the best option, I would think most of our beaches will definitely be closed today,” Downman told ABC Sydney Radio.
“We’re looking at waves [at] two and a half, three metres – very, very large.”
The death in Maroubra comes one day after a man died at Palm Beach, after his small boat flipped in large swell and landed on nearby rocks shortly after midday.
A 14-year-old boy who was a passenger on the boat remains missing and a search for him will resume on Thursday morning. Another man who was on the flipped boat was hospitalised after he was discovered on a nearby rock platform, some 25 metres from the upturned boat, with significant wounds to his left leg.
He was winched from the rocks by a rescue helicopter, before he was lowered onto a nature clearing near the foreshore car park for treatment.
A man died and a teenager is missing after a boat flipped near Palm Beach on Wednesday.
Authorities believe there were three people in the boat at the time of the accident, and were unable to confirm any relationship between the trio.
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