A major multi-agency operation has concluded after a number of people were reported to be struggling in the ocean off Sydney’s Northern Beaches this afternoon.
Emergency services were called to North Curl Curl Beach about 4.50pm today (Sunday 6 August 2023), responding to multiple calls to Triple Zero (000) reports that five people had been swept out to sea in a rip.
A multi-agency response was launched involving Surf Life Saving Club members, Water Police, and officers from Northern Beaches Police Area Command, along with five helicopters – a Life Saver helicopter, TOLL Ambulance helicopter, the Channel Nine helicopter, and two PolAir helicopters.
When police arrived, two men and a woman had already made their way out of the water.
The Toll Ambulance helicopter landed in a nearby reserve with a medical crew transported to the scene.
A 21-year-old man was rescued by Surf Club members in an inflatable rescue boat; he was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics and taken to Northern Beaches Hospital in a stable condition.
A 22-year-old man was winched unresponsive from the water by the Life Saver helicopter about 5.15pm.
Paramedics and an onboard doctor from the TOLL helicopter administered CPR to the man, before he was transported to North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
Police have now spoken with family members on North Curl Curl Beach and believe everyone has been accounted for.
