A couple have died after drowning in the sea as their five-year-old daughter watched in terror from the beach.
The girl's father's final act in life was to heroically rush into the waves to save his partner after seeing her get into trouble, but he was tragically killed too.
Surfers dived to try and help, local media reports, but were unable to save the pair, who were believed to have been in their forties.
The couple's young daughter was reportedly left on the beach helpless to save her parents.
Shaun McKeachie and Bodhi King said they had rushed to rescue the couple after hearing their screams for help.
Mr McKeachie, a builder who had gone to the beach to check the surf, said the water was extremely rough when the tragedy happened on Wednesday afternoon, with "a massive rip" in the middle of the beach.
“(The husband) was in distress, just saying ‘save my wife, save my wife’,” he told 7News.
Mr McKeachie's friend heroically tried to save the woman, lifting her from the water and putting her onto a surfboard, but said she was already unresponsive.
"We pulled her into shore and went to help the other guy,” he said.
The pair tried to resusitate the couple on Frazer Beach in New South Wales, Australia, while the five-year-old girl watched in terror.
It's reported that the couple, who have yet to be named by the police, had another child who was at home with a carer at the time.
“She just watched it all happen ... it didn’t sound like she was in a good way,” Mr McKeachie said.
“We tried our best to help but unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough on the day.”
Paramedics were called to the scene, but tragically the man and woman were pronounced dead.
Since December, there have been 19 coastal drownings in NSW - all at unpatrolled beaches.
