The heartbreaking final moments of a hero dad who drowned while rescuing four children from a robbery have been revealed.
Authorities rushed to Carlton Beach in southern Tasmania around 1pm on Sunday after receiving reports that a group of swimmers were struggling in the strong current.
Lifeguards and lifeguards pulled five swimmers, including four children, from the water.
Paramedics performed CPR on a 38-year-old Brighton man but were unable to revive him.
Devastated relatives have since identified the man as local father Shaun Allen, who was one of four men who died in separate water-related incidents on Sunday.
The young family members he saved survived the ordeal and did not require further medical assistance.
“Unfortunately, today we, the Allen family, lost Shaun Allen to the afterlife,” his brother posted online.
“He paid the ultimate price by saving two children from a robbery in Carlton Beach. He will be missed but never forgotten and he will always be in our hearts.”
Emergency services and surf lifeguards came to the aid of a group in Carlton Beach before a 38-year-old man lost consciousness and could not be revived.
Carlton Beach is patrolled more frequently, but is known for having dangerous currents at one end.
Police revealed that Allen was briefly conscious when he was pulled from the water.
“My understanding is that he was actually conscious when he was taken onto the boat, but unfortunately he lost consciousness and at that point CPR was initiated,” Inspector Darren Latham Latham told reporters.
“From there, I understand paramedics attended and continued CPR on the beach.”
“Unfortunately, he passed away at the scene.”
It is understood the swimmers got into trouble on an unpatrolled section of the beach, a long way from the red and yellow flags. nine news reported.
The tragedy has prompted another warning to swimmers to swim between the flags over the festive period.
He said that at Carlton Beach “like any beach, there can be dangerous parts.”
“As the investigation is at a very early stage, we need to establish where the children were at the time and how they got into trouble,” Inspector Latham said.
“Suffice to say, they found themselves in trouble, which caused this man to go and try to rescue them.”
At least 31 people have drowned in Australia since summer began on December 1 – more than one a day.
Dr. Mohammad Swapan and his wife Sabrina Ahmed lost their lives saving their youngest daughter at Conspicuous Cliff Beach.
The couple’s two daughters were orphaned after the tragic event on Saturday afternoon.
Allen was one of four men who died in water-related incidents on Sunday.
A 21-year-old man swimming in the popular Pine Island section of the Murumbidgee River, near Canberra, also drowned.
Shocked witnesses told ABC they heard the man scream before authorities asked her and other swimmers to leave the area.
A 55-year-old Brisbane man also died after falling from a waterfall near Cairns in far north Queensland.
Emergency services arrived at Behana Gorge but were unable to locate the man, prompting a search and rescue operation.
The man’s body was discovered about an hour later.
On the Gold Coast, student Manaia Tither-Asiata, 18, also died after falling 15 meters after allegedly using a rope swing in the Coomera River.
Tither-Asiata suffered critical injuries to his head, chest and pelvis and could not be revived.
The latest drowning follows the tragic deaths of university lecturer Dr Mohammad Swapan, 44, and his wife Sabrina Ahmed, 40, in the south-west of Western Australia.
An 18-year-old man lost his life after falling from a rope swing into the Coomera River, near the Gold Coast, on Sunday in a series of water accidents during the Christmas season.
Luca Bennett was swept off the rocks at Avoca Beach on the New South Wales central coast on Christmas Eve before his body was found four days later.
The Perth couple dove into the water to save their youngest daughter from a dangerous breakage at Conspicuous Beach, near Walpole, on Saturday afternoon before they got into trouble themselves.
A friend of the couple who was among those who attempted to rescue the couple was resuscitated at the scene and remains in hospital in stable condition.
The couple’s youngest daughter survived the ordeal and has since returned home with her sister to stay with relatives.
The couple were respected members of the Bangladeshi community in Perth, where Dr Swapan was an associate professor at Curtin University.
In New South Wales, the body of teenager Luca Bennett was recovered last week after he was swept off rocks in North Avoca, on the Central Coast, on Christmas Eve.
The 15-year-old aspiring basketball player was one of three teenagers swept out to sea when the group was hit by a wave.
His body was recovered several days later.
Surf Life Saving Australia chief executive Adam Weir said volunteer surf lifesavers will be on hand this summer in a desperate bid to prevent further tragedies.
“In order to enjoy our beaches, we want to ensure that people only swim at patrolled beaches and make safety their top priority,” he said.
“The risk of drowning is more than four times higher during the summer holidays, which is because people take more risks, do not want to visit busy patrolled beaches and combine alcohol and drugs with swimming. It’s a combination risky.”
Royal Life Saving Society chief executive Justin Scarr said Australians should remain more vigilant around water during the treacherous week until New Year’s Eve, where one in four annual drownings can occur.
“Drownings happen everywhere and anywhere there is water at this time of year people generally relax and have fun, but it is very important that they monitor their children constantly but also understand their ability to swim,” he told Radio ABC National.