An ill-advised canal crossing led to a boy being swept into the ocean, leaving his family distraught and triggering a desperate search by land and sea.
The 11-year-old boy was walking with his three siblings and father in The Entry, on the New South Wales Central Coast, when the disaster struck about 5pm on Sunday.
The family were visiting from Sydney and fishing in the area when they are believed to have taken a shortcut through a channel between an estuary and the ocean before the boy was swept away as the tide was going out.
“A lot of people try to cross that channel, although it is not advisable,” Inspector David Piddington told reporters on Monday.
While two bystanders were watching the other three children, the father tried to reach the child but was unsuccessful, police said.
An extensive land, air and sea search for the boy resumed around 8am, involving local police, surf lifeguards, water police and rescue helicopters.
The search area extends about 15 kilometers south to Avoca.
Marine Rescue NSW inspector Steve Raymond said volunteers on two boats on Monday resumed conducting parallel line searches under police direction amid patchy conditions offshore.
A major search and rescue for an 11-year-old boy will resume on Monday morning after he was swept out to sea. Rescue helicopters appear in the photo.
The search and rescue is a joint operation between officers from Tuggerah Lakes Police District, Marine Area Command and Surf Life Saving, as well as Toll and Westpac Rescue helicopters (pictured search in progress).
A man is seen being comforted on Marine Parade, The Entry (pictured)
Attempts to find the boy on Sunday night were called off after dark.
Inspector Piddington said the boy’s family were very distressed.
Police liaison officers and extended family members helped with translation and support.
“We will help them as much as we can in the future,” Inspector Piddington said.
The entrance is located at the mouth of Lake Tuggerah and is a popular holiday and weekend destination about 100 kilometers north of Sydney.