Swimmers are being urged to take extra precautions this Australia Day public holiday following two swimming incidents in south-east Queensland over the weekend.
A 27-year-old Brisbane woman drowned at Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast yesterday, while the search for a missing man off the Cooloola Coast is entering its third day.
Surf Life Saving Queensland regional manager Aaron Purchase said emergency services have used jet skis, drones and helicopters to look for the 21-year-old man since Saturday.
"A man and his brother were out on bodyboards, they got hit by a wave, lost one of those boards and got into difficulty," Mr Purchase said.
"Unfortunately one of the gentlemen made it back to the beach and the other one hasn't come back in as yet.
"The longer that goes by, the less likely it is to have a positive outcome.
"But we'll continue to do the best that we can and working with the water police who provide the best advice around the survivability of these sort of incidents."
Swim between the flags
Police will prepare a report for the coroner, after a 27-year-old woman drowned at Bulcock Beach at Caloundra on Sunday.
"Another tragic event has occurred outside of the patrolled areas," Mr Purchase said.
"We understand the lady was going for a swim with a friend who'd come out of the water and short time later other members of the public noticed her floating unresponsive."
Attempts to revive her were unsuccessful.
He urged people to swim between the red and yellow flags.
"With all of the tragedies that have occurred on our beaches, they've been away from the flagged areas which makes it so much harder for lifesavers and lifeguards to be able to respond," he said.
"We understand that the flagged areas can get busy but they really are the safest spot on the beaches to swim."
'Deeply concerned'
According to the Royal Life Saving Society Australia (RLSSA), at least 43 people had drowned across the country this summer as of Friday.
RLSSA's Belinda Lawton urged swimmers to take care near water ahead of the Australia Day public holiday.
"We know that around public holidays and long weekends that drowning toll tends to increase," Ms Lawton said.
A new awareness campaign launched by RLSSA today aims to target men, who are identified as the highest risk demographic for drowning deaths.
"It tends to be because they take a few more risks, perhaps they don't put on a life jacket when they go out fishing or boating, perhaps they've had a few beers," Ms Lawton said.
"We're also asking men to look after their mates because sometimes you're out with someone and you know that they've had a couple of beers and they probably shouldn't be getting in for that last swim."
