Three children rescued from rip at Anglesea

THE weather may be warming up but Life Saving Victoria is urging caution after three children were rescued from a rip at Anglesea Main Beach last week.

Anglesea SLSC president Tom Cullen said three members of the club rescued three children – a six-year-old girl and two boys aged 9 and 11, from a rip at about 6pm on Thursday.

“Lifesavers Laurie Caulfield and Nic Lowe conducted the rescue supported by Matt Solly. All children were returned safely to the beach and were in good health.”

The family had recently moved to the area, and were still getting to know the conditions.

Choosing the main beach, believing it was relatively shallow water, the children were in waist-deep water, body-boarding.

Their father himself on the beach on the inlet side, where he believed the current would take the children past him if they were swept away.

However, the situation took a turn for the worse when the children were swept in the other direction towards the rocks, where there is a deep water trough.

“It was really unexpected and it took me a while to realise the situation they were in,” said the father, who did not want to be named.

“I didn’t realise they were caught in a rip and the weather was beautiful and conditions good. It happened faster than you would think and could have been much, much worse.”

The recently released National Drowning Report showed 50 drowning deaths at beaches in Australia in the past financial year, with nine drowning deaths at Victorian beaches. The national figure is an increase of four per cent on the 10-year average.

Life Saving Victoria continues to encourage people never to swim alone, to be aware of water conditions and to be realistic about the limitations of swimming skills and fitness, including avoiding swimming in dangerous surf.

For more water safety tips and details on beaches, head to beachsafe.org.au.