A man has died and a woman has been taken to hospital in a critical condition after they were pulled from the water at Bondi Beach on Thursday afternoon.

Emergency services were called to the beach about 4.40pm following reports of patients "in distress in the water".

Shocked swimmers watched on as lifeguards performed CPR on the pair on the sand, before handing over to paramedics.

It is understood the pair, both international tourists who are related to each other, were found unconscious in the water at the southern end of the beach, about 50 metres apart. They did not appear to be swimming between the flags.