The turquoise waters that break over the white sand at Squeaky Beach don't look dangerous.
On Christmas Day in 2020, two 26-year-old international students took a candid photo at the shoreline of the popular bathing spot at Wilson's Prom — which lies in Victoria on the southernmost tip of mainland Australia — before wading into the surf.
It was a mild 21 degrees Celsius, and they were surrounded by other beachgoers jumping through the waves.
Anupam Chhabra and Ashu Duggal knew how to swim.
But they had grown up in northern India, more than 1,000 kilometres from the ocean, and they didn't know Australian waters can harbour strong, invisible currents.
The pair was pulled out to sea shortly after entering the water, and drowned.
Migrants face 'sudden' exposure to dangerous beaches
Sury Soni, president of the Federation of Indian Associations of Victoria, said the deaths of Anupam and Ashu were a painful reminder to Victoria's Indian community about the silent dangers of the water.
"People who migrate to Australia … are suddenly exposed to so many beaches," he said.
"We have seen lots of accidents over the last few years. In particular, issues with international students who go out for fun without realising the safety requirements around beaches and oceans."
To help change that, Mr Soni wants the government to take a serious look at a proposed ocean safety skills training facility in Apollo Bay, on Victoria's Great Ocean Road.
The centre, dubbed the Victorian Blue Ocean Safety Skills Centre, was thought up by Apollo Bay Surf Lifesaving Club redevelopment coordinator David Gorrie and Apollo Bay P12 College principal Brian Humphries.
Mr Gorrie said the project needed $15.4 million to build new surf club facilities and accommodation at Apollo Bay College that could house Year 9 and 10 students for school camps to achieve their bronze medallion — potentially making thousands of students qualified life savers.
It would also be open to community groups that wanted to improve the ocean safety skills of their members.
Last year, then-education minister James Merlino wrote a letter to Mr Gorrie confirming his support of accommodation being built at the high school and said he "looked forward to the successful delivery of this exciting project".
Mr Gorrie said after the letter was sent, he called the Minister's office to know what the next steps were and was told to work with Life Saving Victoria and Treasury to make sure the case was included in the budget.
Life Saving Victoria presented a business case for the centre to Emergency Management Victoria for consideration in the last budget.
"But the last day at state budget came and there was no funding for it," Mr Gorrie said.
"Deaths by drowning are near an all-time high, we need to be training the next generations that come through if we are going to start addressing these drowning deaths."
Life Saving Victoria chief executive Catherine Greaves said she would continue working to secure funding for the Apollo Bay centre.
Hundreds drown in Australia each year
Victoria recorded four water-related deaths in the space of three days from Christmas Day.
The latest Royal Life Saving Australia drowning report described an almost perfect storm for a rise in drowning deaths: a boom in domestic tourism leading Australians to "increasingly seeking out secluded and often unpatrolled waterways" coupled with an aquatic industry "struggling to recruit instructors and lifeguards".
The latest statistics, released in June, showed 339 people drowned in Australian waters in the 2021–22 year.
It was a 15 per cent increase on the previous year, and a 24 per cent increase compared with the 10-year average.
Rivers and creeks were the leading location for drowning, making up 34 per cent, followed by beaches at 21 per cent and ocean/harbour locations at 13 per cent.
Liam Krige, Life Saving Victoria's general manager of lifesaving services, said there was a misconception about what drowning looked like.
"Drowning is quite silent," he said.
"People think there's going to be a lot of splashing about in the water and they'll be able to draw attention."
But he said, very often, the person drowning doesn't have enough energy to hold their arms up and make loud noises, which is why lifesavers were trained to look for specific and often subtle signs of drowning.
Apollo Bay high school principal Mr Humphries said Victoria would be an "unbelievably safer place" if the ocean safety skills centre went ahead.
"Every beach you'd go to could have 50 qualified people that knew how to save people's lives, they would know where to swim, not to swim, and that will ultimately reduce drownings," he said.
Mr Humphries said Apollo Bay's foreshore was one of the safest beaches along the Surf Coast but had dangerous surf on either side of it at Marengo Beach and Skenes Creek.
Teaching community groups surf skills was something Mr Sury said would heighten the awareness of ocean safety in migrant families.
"It's shocking and sad for the community to realise … with all those facilities and safety standards on the beach, people [are] still drowning."
'It's a life skill that you'll never forget'
High school student Sky Smith believes she is a clear example of what could be achieved with the centre.
The 18-year-old grew up in Apollo Bay but was terrified of the ocean.
She clung to her mum and brother whenever they went swimming.
But that fear eventually turned into determination and she applied to get her bronze medallion.
She's now a qualified lifesaver and is about to start a job as a lifeguard.
She knows how currents work, how to spot a rip, when it's safe to go in and when it's not. And she knows what to do when the worst happens.
But she's the odd one out among her friendship group.
"I have so many friends in Melbourne that go down into the rip straightaway and literally have to tell them, no, that's unsafe," she said.
"Being able to save people's lives, it seems very, very scary.
"But once you know that technique, it's a life skill that you'll never forget."
