Two men drowned within minutes of each other on Tuesday, one in Sydney, one on North Stradbroke Island, bringing to nine the number of drownings in Australia since Christmas Eve.

A 35-year-old man died after being pulled unconscious from the water at Clovelly beach in Sydney.

Emergency services were called to the beach at 1.54pm AEDT on Tuesday where they found the man, with a doctor already on scene, a NSW Ambulance spokesman said.

The man did not responded to CPR or the use of a defibrillator to restart his heart. Police confirmed shortly after 3pm the man had died. Local officers will prepare a report for the coroner.

Bystanders said they had thought the man was snorkelling face down and it was only after he began hitting up against rocks they realised he might be in trouble.

The second man was pulled from the surf at a popular swimming spot on North Stradbroke Island in Queensland.

Paramedics were called to Frenchman’s beach at Point Lookout just before 12.30pm local time (1.30pm AEDT) where a man in his 40s was in a critical condition.

Despite paramedics working on him for more than an hour, he could not be saved.

A spokeswoman for Surf Living Saving Queensland said the man was “unresponsive” when pulled from the water. He was treated by volunteer surf lifesavers before paramedics arrived.

The area between Frenchmans beach and Point Lookout headland has been identified as a coastal blackspot.

“The incident serves as a timely reminder to always swim at patrolled beaches between the red and yellow flags,” the spokeswoman said.

Police were investigating and a report will be prepared for the coroner.

Seven others have drowned since Christmas Eve.

Four people drowned in three incidents before Boxing Day; a fifth man died after slipping into the water at MacKenzie Falls near Stawell in Victoria; a woman drowned at Forge Creek, near Bairnsdale in Victoria, on Saturday; and a 58-year-old man died on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast after being pulled unconscious from the surf on Saturday.



