New South Wales holiday-makers are being urged to treat water carefully, after more than 600 rescues in three days and the tragic death of two teenage girls in a boating incident.
The teenagers, aged 13 and 14, were riding on an inflatable "biscuit" towed behind a speedboat at about 4pm on Lake Keepit north-west of Tamworth on Tuesday.
"Unfortunately, as it went over a wake, the biscuit has hurled these children into a submerged [tree] stump and both those children are now deceased," Detective Superintendent Bruce Grassick said.
The 72-year-old male driver has undergone mandatory testing while another passenger on board the boat was not injured, he said.
Superintendent Grassick confirmed they were extended family members.
He said the impact was significant, due to the speed the boat was travelling at, and the children had been riding unprotected, however, they were wearing life jackets.
The family had visited the caravan park on Ski Gardens Road before and had arrived on December 21.
Camper Ben Woodward said the weather conditions had been calm and "perfect".
"It's terrible, it's just a tragedy isn't it … Feel bad for the people. We've been thinking about it all morning. It's just shocking," he said.
"Just makes you think, doesn't it. Makes you think about safety on the water and your own kids."
"How could you live with it, it's terrible … I'd never get over it."
Premier Dominic Perrottet said the incident was deeply upsetting.
"My heart goes out to the young children's families."
"It's an incredibly tragic circumstance and our thoughts and prayers are with you and your friends and your families in this very difficult time," he said.
The busy festive period has seen Surf Life Saving NSW conduct an "unprecedented" number of rescues with 630 people saved since Christmas Day.
Chief executive Steve Pearce said a worrying trend was an increase in young children needing to be rescued.
"We've seen over the last 48 hours multiple reports of children being pulled unconscious from the water," he said.
"Thankfully, all of those children have survived and been transferred to hospital."
NSW Ambulance Inspector Kay Armstrong asked people to remain vigilant after the service was called out to more than 40 water-related incidents in four days.
Those incidents involved 12 children and resulted in four deaths.
On Wednesday afternoon, paramedics where called to a home at St Clair in Western Sydney after a boy was found unresponsive in a pool.
NSW Ambulance said family members performed CPR and the boy was alert but coughing up water when they arrived.
He was taken to the Children's Hospital at Westmead in a serious condition.
Later in the day, a woman in her 20s who was swimming with a friend at South Cronulla Beach was pulled out of the water by beachgoers.
She was unconscious when paramedics arrived and may have been caught in a rip.
The woman was treated at the scene before being taken to St George Hospital in a critical condition.
Her friend was taken to the same hospital in a stable condition.
Ms Armstrong said there did seem to be a higher call rate to emergency services than last year.
"I think, with COVID over the last three years, we probably haven't put teaching our kids to swim as a priority," she said.
"That has probably been quite difficult for people — to attend swimming lessons and safety around pools."
Swimmer feared missing in Wagga Wagga
A swimmer is believed to have gone missing in the Murrumbidgee River at Wagga Wagga in southern NSW.
The man submerged and did not resurface at Wagga Beach about 8:30pm on Tuesday, according to reports.
Acting Inspector Alison Molyneux said the river banks were thoroughly searched but the man had not been found.
A drone was deployed until about 1am and resumed in the morning, a Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson said.
Ms Molyneux said the situation is difficult because the identity of the man is not known, and no missing persons report has been filed.
"At this stage, there's around four people in the same group who saw this person go in the water," she said.
"If there's no missing person report, eventually we will end the investigation and the search for this person."
Police are seeking information from anyone who may have been in the area at the time.
