Body sighted in search for boy swept out to sea off Port Macquarie

A retrieval operation is underway for the body of a teenage boy who drowned in rough surf off Port Macquarie on the New South Wales mid-north coast.

A search was launched yesterday afternoon after the boy, believed to be 14, disappeared while swimming with two mates at Flynns Beach.

It resumed at 7am today, police said, after being called off last night due to rough conditions.

The boy's body has been sighted, a Surf Life Saving NSW spokesman said today, and marine rescue vessels and police are working to retrieve it.

Flynns Beach remains closed.

The death comes 10 days after an 11-year-old ACT boy was caught in a rip in rough conditions at the nearby unpatrolled Lighthouse Beach.

The ACT boy's mother could only watch as her son, who was waist-deep in water, was sucked into the surf on December 6 while his 17-year-old brother tried to rescue him.

The 11-year-old's body hasn't been recovered.