Rainbow shines from above in the same spot tragic swimmer drowned on Easter Sunday: ‘I thought it was a sign’
- Rainbow hits tragic drowning spot
- Italian man drowned at Shell Harbor
- The beach is unguarded beach
A rainbow has appeared at a popular surfing spot just two hours after a horror drowning that left many devastated locals taking it as a sign from heaven.
An Italian man who had just arrived in Australia drowned on Easter Sunday after entering the water at unguarded Killalea beach in Shell Harbour, 20 km south of Wollongong on the NSW south coast.
The tragedy comes after NSW was hit by two separate drownings in Port Stephens and the Tweed River on the same day.
The saddened locals were amazed at the rainbow that appeared an hour after the tragedy.
“I thought it was a sign,” one person wrote on social media.
Local residents of the Shell Cove suburb were stunned by the rainbow (pictured) appearing an hour after the tragic death at Killalea Beach with a saying: ‘I thought it was a sign’
Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Center received reports of the swimmer in distress at 3pm after being caught in a wild surf 50m offshore
The man who came to Australia to work as an engineer in Sydney couldn’t find his way back through the surf after swimming (photo, Killalea Beach)
Another said, “Both ends of the rainbow are visible through the clouds.”
Surf Life Saving NSW State Operations Center received reports of the swimmer in distress at 3pm after being caught in wild surf 50 yards offshore. Illawarra Mercury reported.
The man who had come to Australia to work as an engineer was pulled ashore by rescuers but was pronounced dead after efforts to resuscitate him by NSW paramedics failed.
NSW Ambulance Superintendent in Illawarra, Terry Morrow, said the man had been in the water for quite some time before being brought ashore unconscious.
“Unfortunately he had gone swimming at the north end of Killalea beach and got into trouble and then drowned,” says Insp. Morrow said.
“The person had come from Italy and was here for a short time.”
Several emergency services were involved in the desperate attempt to save the man’s life, including a 4WD and a Toll rescue helicopter that dropped off a doctor and paramedic on the beach.
Inspector Morrow said it gets more difficult when swimmers choose to go to remote beaches.
The tragic Shell Cove incident on Killalea Beach, also known as The Farm, comes after two other drownings on Easter Sunday.
A man in his 70s drowned after going into the surf off Fingal Beach in Port Stephens to save a girl around 10am. 7News reported.
It is clear that the girl who had struggled in the surf had made it back ashore.
The body of another man was found in the Tweed River near Banora Point in Northern NSW around noon as inquiries into his death are ongoing.
The tragic Shell Cove incident on Killalea Beach (pictured), also known as The Farm, comes after two other drownings on Easter Sunday
SLSNSW CEO Steve Pearce said the three drownings are part of a horror year for the state and the worst summer in NSW history.
He added that each drowning occurred on an unguarded beach or outside of patrol hours and reminded swimmers to swim between the red and yellow flags.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology warned on Tuesday that surf and swell conditions are expected to remain dangerous for swimmers in NSW, including the coasts of Illawarra and Sydney.
There was also a dangerous surf warning for Wednesday that hit coastal areas of Byron, Coffs Coast, Macquarie, Hunter and Sydney.
