Two Indians Drown, One Missing While Rescuing Children at Moonee Beach in Australia

Two people of Indian-origin died and one went missing from Moonee beach in Australia on Dec. 17 after they jumped into the water to rescue two children from their family.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the children were saved by a rescue team and taken to a hospital. They are now stable. Among those rescued were two girls, aged 15 and 17, and a 15-year-old boy.

The deceased were identified as Ghousuddin (45) and his son-in-law Junaid (28) of Manyam Chelka colony of Nalgonda town and Rahat (35) from BHEL Colony on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India. While Ghousuddin and Rahat were brought to shore but could not be revived, a search is still on to trace Junaid, Hindustan Times reported.

The Indian families from Sydney and Brisbane were holidaying at Coffs Harbor and were visiting the scenic Moonee Beach, 23 kilometers north of Coffs Harbor in New South Wales when members of the family got into difficulties in the surf at about 6 pm, the publication cited Australian website sbs.com.au as saying.

“It was like a reunion for them. The families from Sydney and Brisbane had come together to spend holidays together. They had rented a place and were visiting the nearby beach when the tragedy occurred,” the Australian website quoted Syed Siraj Patel, of the Indian Muslim Association of Australia (IMAA) as saying.

Eyewitness Michelle Collard said the two men pulled out of the water were not in a good way after struggling in the “ferocious” surf, website abc.net.au reported. She said locals pitched in to help search for the missing man, while others assisted with CPR, the publication wrote.