Water safety warning as summer kicks off

Police in South Australia are pleading with the public to ensure their boats are water-ready and to wear working life jackets this summer after a tide of rescues in the past weeks involving capsized vessels.

In the past year, inspections of more than 5000 vessels in the state have resulted in 601 fines, with 143 specifically issued for life jacket violations. 

In the past few weeks, police have responded to five capsized vessels, one of which tragically resulted in the death of a 77-year-old fisherman off the coast of Elliston.

In another incident near Robe on the Limestone Coast, two brothers miraculously survived nearly seven hours in the water after their boat sank due to a freak wave. 

Although both men were wearing life jackets, one of them failed to inflate.

Anyone heading to beaches or rivers over the holiday period has been urged to tell someone where they'll be and when they're planning to return.

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.