india

Updated: Dec 18, 2018 16:21 IST

Two Indian nationals died and one is still missing from Moonee beach in Australia on Monday after they jumped into the water to rescue two children from their family.

The children were saved by a rescue team and taken to a hospital and are said to be stable. Among those rescued were two girls, aged 15 and 17, and a 15-year-old boy.

According to reports reaching Hyderabad, the deceased were identified as Ghousuddin (45) and his son-in-law Junaid (28) of Manyam Chelka colony of Nalgonda down and Rahat (35) from BHEL Colony on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Ghousuddin and Rahat were brought to shore but could not be revived, while search is still on to trace Junaid.

The Indian families from Sydney and Brisbane were spending their holidays at Coffs Harbour and were visiting the scenic Moonee Beach, 23 kilometres north of Coffs Harbour in New South Wales when members of the family got into difficulties in the surf at about 6 pm on Monday evening, website Australian website sbs.com.au reported.

“It was like a reunion for them. The families from Sydney and Brisbane had come together to spend holidays together. They had rented a place and were visiting the nearby beach when the tragedy occurred,” Mr Syed Siraj Patel, of the Indian Muslim Association of Australia (IMAA) was quoted as saying by the website.

Eyewitness Michelle Collard said the two men pulled out of the water were not in a good way after struggling in the “ferocious” surf, website abc.net.au reported. She said locals pitched in to help search for the missing man, while others assisted with CPR.