Girl's body washes up at Maroubra Beach, Nepalese boy remains missing
Feb 14, 2017 under Accidents/Incidents 105 , Nepalese in Australia 91 , Australia 90
RESCUE helicopters are scouring an eastern suburbs beach for a 25-year-old man after the body of a young foreign student believed to be with him washed up this morning.
Police were called to Maroubra beach at about 6am this morning after a jogger discovered the body of a woman, a 23-year-old Nepalese national, washed up at the northern end of the beach.
A woman at the scene said: “She seemed young. A guy going for a run started screaming for help so I grabbed mobile and a few of us bolted down.
“There was nothing we could do though, she was gone... I feel so sad for her and her family. She was clothed so most probably wasn’t swimming especially as beach was closed yesterday,” the woman said on Maroubra Community Facebook page.
The woman’s friends have been notified, however her family have not yet been reached.
Some hours later it was discovered the man, who was believed to be with the woman, was also missing and a search effort was launched with the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter, two Sydney duty officers, Council Lifeguard jet skis, and NSW Police all providing support.
Personal items belonging to both have been recovered from the beach.
The search is concentrated between the northern end of the beach and as far as Wedding Cake Island at Coogee.
“We haven’t been able to locate him at this stage,” Eastern Beaches Inspector Anthony Agnew said.
“We’re doing our best but the surf is very hard.”
“There’s a strong possibility he has gone into the ocean as well.”
Surf Life Saving assets were stood down by Police at 11:30am but will continue to be available if requested.
A Surf Life Saving spokesman said poor visibility and strong swell conditions had presented a challenge to rescuers.
“It is not known what activities the pair was doing at the time they got into difficulty,” the spokesman said.
The woman’s death is being treated as non-suspicious and it is understood police are investigating it as a potential drowning.
A crime scene has been established at the beach.
A number of beaches in NSW are closed due to the weather with only Coogee currently open in metropolitan Sydney.
Tagged: Nepalese 26, Australia 109, Sydney 29, Maroubra Beach 2
