An 82-year-old man has died after being thrown from a boat while fishing near Bundaberg, Queensland.
Queensland Ambulance Service said two men, both aged 82, were fishing on the Burnett River at Rubyanna on Tuesday.
Senior operations supervisor Nigel Jones said one of the men suffered a cardiac arrest after spending time in the water.
"We performed CPR for a period of time but unfortunately that gentleman has passed away," he said.
The second man was taken to Bundaberg Hospital in a stable condition with arm lacerations.
Mr Jones said police were investigating the cause of the incident.
"All that we know at this stage is that both gentlemen were ejected from the vessel while it was underway," he said.
"Passers-by were able to pick one of the gentlemen up.
"The passers-by performed CPR to the first gentleman and they took him to a nearby boat club whereby an [automated external defibrillator] was located and used on that person, however he did pass away on scene.
"The second gentleman was able to swim back to his own vessel and return to shore."
Investigation underway
Bargara Police Sergeant Matt Steinhardt said officers were investigating.
"We are looking at driver error here, in relation to navigating the waterway," he said.
"However, there's no indication of any other vessels involved or any other obstruction."
Sergeant Steinhardt said fishers came to the men's rescue.
"Whilst they were approaching the one person in the water, who was still swimming at that time, as they got closer, unfortunately he was face down," he said.
"They did recover him from the water and commenced CPR.
"They transported him to the mainland here, where they continued to work on him.
"Unfortunately, he was pronounced deceased at the water."
