hellwoman
02-27-2007, 07:50 AM
http://www.gcbulletin.com.au/article/2007/02/26/3514_news.html
Deadly detour in dark
26Feb07
A MAN is lost in the sea, presumed drowned, after he waded into 'washing machine-like' surf on Saturday night.
Sajith Alahakoon, 18, of Kenmore, west Brisbane, and a friend swam in the surf in the dark. He was an inexperienced swimmer and the surf was treacherous.
When the pair got into trouble, only one of them made it back.
The two men, and a third who did not go in the water, had arrived on the Gold Coast for a night on the town.
Their detour to go swimming has left a family grieving for their son and friends wondering what had gone wrong.
Police regional district officer Acting Inspector Peter Gordon said it had been a 'terrible day all round'.
"The two men have decided to go for a swim and one of them has made it exhausted back to the shore but the other, unfortunately, did not," he said.
"It's a bit of what they thought was harmless fun that has ended in tragedy."
An air search was started minutes after Mr Alahakoon was reported missing, but dangerous conditions prevented lifesavers from entering the water on Saturday night.
The RACQ CareFlight helicopter and rescue crews on the ground searched for four hours on Saturday night before the search was called off.
Rescue crews continued the search at first light yesterday morning, launching four jet-skis, two IRBs and skis into the water to help search for the missing man.
The Westpac Surf Lifesaving helicopter searched from the air during the morning but was called off about noon.
However, about 3pm yesterday a lifesaver patrolling on a jet-ski at Surfers Paradise reported a dark shadow on the bottom of the ocean floor, directly out from Q1.
The man jumped in after the shadow, which he believed may have been a body, and another search continued for about an hour without success.
Surfers Paradise patrol captain Khan Hamill said they had double the lifesavers patrolling the beach yesterday as a result of incident and continuing rough conditions.
Surf Lifesaving Duty Officer Col Neil said the chances of finding the man alive were diminishing.
"We have hope, we always do, but he wasn't a good swimmer."
It's believed the men were knocked over by a wave in shallow water and sucked out to sea.
"There is a strong rip to the north of where they went into the water," said Mr Neil.
"The pair were sucked out and the man who made it back could hear his mate calling out for help for quite a few minutes.
"And then it was silent."
The 20-year-old man who made it to shore had coughed up water and was treated for exhaustion.
He was taken to Gold Coast Hospital, but was discharged yesterday afternoon.
Although rescue crews said their hearts went out to the family, the incident has frustrated many who had warned people against swimming outside of patrolled areas, or worse, outside of patrol hours.
"In this case there was nothing we could do," said Mr Neil. "It was dark and we weren't there.
"I don't know if things would be different if we were on duty, but his chances of survival would certainly have been far greater."
Mr Neil said the warnings weren't working. "You can't tell people, we've tried and tried," he said.
"People do drown -- we can't cover every area all the time. It's very frustrating for us because all of this is quite preventable."
Yesterday, The Bulletin spotted more swimmers taking their chances in the same patch of water where the missing man was sucked out.
The 'Danger -- No Swimming' signs went unheeded.
The missing man's family gathered on the sand to start a beach-side vigil yesterday.
Rescue crews believed the man would be found in the same area where he went missing.
Acting Inspector Gordon yesterday urged swimmers to follow beach safety advice.
"We implore people to really comply with the surf safety message," he said. "Lifeguards and lifesavers continually put the message out and it is so important people abide by that."
Deadly detour in dark
26Feb07
A MAN is lost in the sea, presumed drowned, after he waded into 'washing machine-like' surf on Saturday night.
Sajith Alahakoon, 18, of Kenmore, west Brisbane, and a friend swam in the surf in the dark. He was an inexperienced swimmer and the surf was treacherous.
When the pair got into trouble, only one of them made it back.
The two men, and a third who did not go in the water, had arrived on the Gold Coast for a night on the town.
Their detour to go swimming has left a family grieving for their son and friends wondering what had gone wrong.
Police regional district officer Acting Inspector Peter Gordon said it had been a 'terrible day all round'.
"The two men have decided to go for a swim and one of them has made it exhausted back to the shore but the other, unfortunately, did not," he said.
"It's a bit of what they thought was harmless fun that has ended in tragedy."
An air search was started minutes after Mr Alahakoon was reported missing, but dangerous conditions prevented lifesavers from entering the water on Saturday night.
The RACQ CareFlight helicopter and rescue crews on the ground searched for four hours on Saturday night before the search was called off.
Rescue crews continued the search at first light yesterday morning, launching four jet-skis, two IRBs and skis into the water to help search for the missing man.
The Westpac Surf Lifesaving helicopter searched from the air during the morning but was called off about noon.
However, about 3pm yesterday a lifesaver patrolling on a jet-ski at Surfers Paradise reported a dark shadow on the bottom of the ocean floor, directly out from Q1.
The man jumped in after the shadow, which he believed may have been a body, and another search continued for about an hour without success.
Surfers Paradise patrol captain Khan Hamill said they had double the lifesavers patrolling the beach yesterday as a result of incident and continuing rough conditions.
Surf Lifesaving Duty Officer Col Neil said the chances of finding the man alive were diminishing.
"We have hope, we always do, but he wasn't a good swimmer."
It's believed the men were knocked over by a wave in shallow water and sucked out to sea.
"There is a strong rip to the north of where they went into the water," said Mr Neil.
"The pair were sucked out and the man who made it back could hear his mate calling out for help for quite a few minutes.
"And then it was silent."
The 20-year-old man who made it to shore had coughed up water and was treated for exhaustion.
He was taken to Gold Coast Hospital, but was discharged yesterday afternoon.
Although rescue crews said their hearts went out to the family, the incident has frustrated many who had warned people against swimming outside of patrolled areas, or worse, outside of patrol hours.
"In this case there was nothing we could do," said Mr Neil. "It was dark and we weren't there.
"I don't know if things would be different if we were on duty, but his chances of survival would certainly have been far greater."
Mr Neil said the warnings weren't working. "You can't tell people, we've tried and tried," he said.
"People do drown -- we can't cover every area all the time. It's very frustrating for us because all of this is quite preventable."
Yesterday, The Bulletin spotted more swimmers taking their chances in the same patch of water where the missing man was sucked out.
The 'Danger -- No Swimming' signs went unheeded.
The missing man's family gathered on the sand to start a beach-side vigil yesterday.
Rescue crews believed the man would be found in the same area where he went missing.
Acting Inspector Gordon yesterday urged swimmers to follow beach safety advice.
"We implore people to really comply with the surf safety message," he said. "Lifeguards and lifesavers continually put the message out and it is so important people abide by that."