Mystery of unconscious woman pulled from ocean

Police are still at a loss as to how and why a woman nearly drowned at Sydney's Yarra Bay overnight.

Emergency crews were called to reports of an unconscious woman at the beach near Kooringai Avenue about 9pm yesterday. She was fully clothed and her handbag was also found in the water.

Witness Mark Dijakovic says he arrived at the quiet bay overnight to find two Good Samaritans performing CPR on the woman.

"I just saw a lady on her side on the beach and two guys pretty much pumping her," he told 9NEWS. 

"I said to them 'do you need some assistance? I'll call the ambulance' and they said were already on the phone."

The woman was rushed to St George Hospital in a critical condition. Initially police did not know her identity, however she was positively identified this afternoon.

Police have since appealed for witnesses to come forward.

The woman is the latest in a string of drowning incidents across the nation as more people flock to the water as the weather heats up. 

New drowning stats have been released by the Queensland Family and Child Commission overnight in the hope it will remind parents to remain vigilant when with their children around the water. 

The report found that more children aged five and under have drowned in Queensland than in any other state

In the last five years 42 children lost their lives in the water in the sunshine state, 14 in the last 12 months alone.