11 March 2026 , 09:01
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Emergency services were called to Shellharbour South Beach at Shell Cove, Australia, just after 11am on Wednesday, when locals reported two swimmers struggling in the water.
A 66-year-old man and a 64-year-old woman were pulled from the water by beachgoers, with an off-duty nurse performing CPR until ambulance workers arrived.
Both were unable to be revived and died at the scene.
According to reports, the two swimmers were British tourists at the beach with their family.
“It was pretty calm, everyone knew what they were doing. It wasn’t a made panic, everyone just switched into what they were doing,’ a beachgoer told local outlet Illawarra Mercury.
“It puts it all into perspective how quick things can go wrong.”
A second witness told the ABC: “The police were here, the emergency services were here and then we heard the helicopter was on the way.”
A number of emergency workers remain at the scene, with tents set up to prevent beachgoers from seeing the aftermath.
The nurses who attempted to rescue the two ill-fated swimmers are understood not to have known each other.
As many as 80 people have drowned on the Australian coast since December 1, according to Royal Life Saving Society data.
Head of Investigations