Man and boy drown in separate Victorian incidents
A seven-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man have died in two separate suspected drowning incidents across Victoria.
The young boy had been swimming with a group in the Snowy River in Jarrahmond, in the state's south-east, on New Year's Day when he got into difficulty and slipped below the surface before 6pm.
Police and the State Emergency Service searched for the boy into the night but his body wasn't found until 10.45am.
READ MORE: Victoria records 7172 new COVID-19 cases
A seven-year-old's body has been found after vanishing in the Snowy River. East Gippsland Catchment Management Authority
Emergency services were contacted about that time after three swimmers got into difficulty in rough waters near the mouth of the Gellibrand River about 10.40am.
Two men in a private helicopter helped rescue the three swimmers.
They landed their aircraft and started CPR on a 35-year-old man but he could not be revived.
READ MORE: Tropical cyclone Seth whips up hazardous surf
A man has died after getting into difficulty in the water near the mouth of the Gellibrand River. Corangamite Shire
The two other swimmers were taken to hospital.
One was flown to The Alfred hospital this afternoon, where he is in a stable condition.
Reports will be prepared for the coroner.
Water safety has become a significant concern across the country over the holiday periods, with a spate of drownings.
The body of a 17-year-old girl was pulled from Murray River in South Australia after she fell from a houseboat on New Year's Eve.
The body of a 15-year-old boy has also been recovered in the Shoalhaven River west of Nowra, New South Wales, after he went missing on New Year's Eve.
A man's body has also been found inside a submerged car in Port Stephens, New South Wales.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
