Four young children stranded on rocks winched to safety at NSW beach

Four young children have made a lucky escape from a strong ocean tide after being winched to safety by a lifesaver helicopter on the New South Wales Far South Coast.

A family were playing on rocks at Blue Pool in Bermagui just before 5pm today when the children – two boys and two girls aged between 10 and 16 – were left stranded by a rising tide.

“Suddenly, there was no way back to their mother who was waiting for their return several hundred metres away,” a statement from Surf Life Saving NSW said.

“After being alerted to the incident the Sydney-based State Operations Centre tasked a number of surf lifesaving assets to attend the scene.”

Eight members from the Bermagui surf life saving club as well as nearby lifeguards on patrol and an Inflatable Rescue Boat all joined the effort.

After determining the safest way to help the children to safety, the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter was deployed from Moruya and winched them to safety one hour after becoming stranded.

Far South Coast Duty Officer and Bermagui SLSC Secretary Cheryl McCarthy said the operation was successful and tested training techniques.

“It was fantastic to see everyone’s training be put to the test in a real-life situation and the ALS Lifeguards, the crew from the Westpac Helicopter, and the call-out team certainly deserve credit for their professionalism and effort,” she said.

“From our perspective it was a team effort and we are certainly glad to be part of what was a great outcome.”

It is understood the young family were visitors to the area.