Update:
A WOMAN who was pulled from the surf and fighting for life on Wednesday afternoon remains in hospital in a serious but stable condition.
A man and a woman were taken to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle after a near-drowning at Stockton Beach, south of Birubi, about 2.40pm on December 27.
The woman was in a critical condition at the time, and the man was stable.
Hunter New England Health confirmed the woman, aged 43, was in a serious but stable condition in hospital as at 7.30pm on Wednesday.
The man has been discharged from hospital.
A man that was also pulled from the surf at the time, aged 33, sadly died at the scene.
A third man was assessed by paramedics but did not need to go to hospital.
Earlier:
A MAN has drowned and a woman is fighting for life in hospital after they were among four people pulled from the water at Port Stephens.
Emergency services were called to Stockton Beach, about three kilometres south of the notorious Birubi Beach at Anna Bay, about 2.40pm today, December 27.
Bystanders desperately tried to help a 33-year-old man who had been rescued from the ocean but he sadly could not be revived and died at the scene.
Ambulance paramedics treated a woman who had also been pulled from the water.
She was rushed to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle and was in a critical condition at the time, police said.
A second man was taken to the same hospital in a stable condition.
A third man was assessed by paramedics at the beach but did not need further treatment at hospital.
A Surf Life Saving NSW spokesperson said its crews stationed at the nearby Birubi Beach was alerted to the unfolding situation and travelled several kilometres south to respond.
CPR was already under way.
A Hunter duty officer was also tasked to the stretch of unpatrolled beach the group had been swimming at.
The State Operations Centre was made aware that up to four patients were out of the water and requiring first aid.
Port Stephens Hunter police have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.
A report will be prepared for the information of the coroner.
It comes amid a horror summer already at Hunter and Central Coast beaches, with a string of deaths.
One man died at Umina beach and another died at Copacabana on the Central Coast on Christmas Day.
Police said both of them had suffered medical episodes in the surf.
A 47-year-old Western Sydney man died after he was caught in a rip at the notorious Birubi Beach at about 6.30pm on December 16.
A swimmer drowned off Stockton three weeks earlier, near the Lavis Lane entry to the dunes, while four of his friends managed to escape a rip and get back to shore.
His body wasn't found after a major multi-day search from the sea and sky.
A 71-year-old man died after being swept off rocks at Boat Harbour in October. He had suffered a medical issue.
Surf Life Saving volunteers from Fingal and Birubi clubs rallied to ensure better coverage of the coastline for the Christmas and New Year period, putting on dusk patrols from 4pm to 7pm on weekends and public holidays.
Regular patrols, with the red and yellow flags, run at the beaches from 9am to 5pm.
There have been seven fatal beach drownings at Port Stephens this year.
In the wake of today's tragedy, additional lifesaving assets from Sydney will arrive tomorrow to assist local volunteers.
They will also relieve duty officers who are already conducting additional dusk patrols after normal club patrol hours in response to the recent incidents in the area.
As beach numbers grow during the Christmas period and temperatures climb this week, Surf Life Saving NSW is asking holiday makers along the NSW coastline to be extremely wary of swimming at unpatrolled locations.
Authorities have pleaded with people to only swim at patrolled beaches and only enter the water between the red and yellow flags.
Two emergency response beacons, which operate 24 hours a day, are located at the spit north of Fingal Beach and on the nearby island.
They are solar powered, have radio contact back to a manned base, have cameras attached, and are available for people in distress.
In a life-threatening situation, call triple zero (000).
