Man, 22, drowns near Byron Bay

A young man has drowned at a northern NSW beach after becoming overwhelmed by large waves and swept hundreds of metres in a strong rip.

The 22-year-old Brisbane man was swimming with his girlfriend at Broken Heads beach, a popular and unpatrolled spot near Byron Bay, on Wednesday afternoon but they were both caught in a rip and dragged about 300 metres south, Sergeant Jason Dowds told AAP.

"The surf was quite big," he said.

The man's girlfriends managed to get to safety but lost sight of him.

About five minutes later she found him floating face down and with the help of some locals brought him to shore.

Bystanders and emergency services attempted to revive the man but he died on the beach.

The man's family have been notified and have travelled to Byron Bay but police were unable to provide his identity.

His death is the third drowning on Australian beaches in a week after a 15-year-old Indian girl drowned at an Adelaide beach on Monday and an 11-year-old boy died after being swept out to sea Port Macquarie on the NSW mid-north coast last Wednesday.