Two people have died after being pulled from the ocean by beachgoers in eastern Victoria.
The married couple, a 60-year-old man and a 65-year-old woman, got into trouble at Bastion Point, Mallacoota, more than 500 kilometres east of Melbourne, on the border with New South Wales.
Police said they were pulled from the water at about 3:25pm yesterday.
The couple were from Melbourne, visiting their mother and mother-in-law in Mallacoota.
Paramedics arrived at the beach but both victims died at the scene.
Police are now preparing a report for the coroner.
East Gippsland Police Service divisional commander Mark Edwards said Mallacoota police arrived at the scene about 3:40pm.
Rip suspected
He said witnesses told them the couple were swimming and bodysurfing in the water, before the man called out for help.
"People went out to assist, they'd been separated, became about 200 metres apart," he said.
"They were floating face-down in the water after a short period of time and the people managed to get them onto shore and commence CPR but unfortunately both the man and the lady passed away.
"[These are] really, really tragic circumstances."
Commander Edwards said it was important to remind people about the dangers of swimming at the beach, as a heatwave sweeps across the state.
"From what we can gather, it appears they might have been caught in a rip," he said.
"They've been towed out a bit from shore and haven't been able to deal with the rip and ended up drowning."
Bastion Point is labelled moderately hazardous by Surf Life Saving Australia, whose website states it is one of the most dangerous entrances on the east coast and offers little protection to boats.
Heatwave prompts more patrols
Beaches around Mallacoota are only patrolled during the school holidays by volunteers.
Life Saving Victoria (LSV) general manager Liam Krige said there would be some lifesavers patrolling Mallacoota beaches over the next few days due to the heat.
"We have at LSV extended our patrol significantly over the last five-year periods to adapt to the risk profile of the area so we will continue to monitor that," he said.
Mr Krige said people needed to be aware of the "hidden dangers" when swimming at quiet beaches on the coast.
"Rips are certainly one of the leading causes of drownings, particularly at the coastal locations," he said.
The deaths bring the state's drowning toll to 11 people this summer, according to Life Saving Victoria.
