By Phoebe Pin and Danuta Kozaki, ABC News
A number of people have died and others are missing following incidents across the Sydney coastline on New Year's Day. Photo: ABC News
A woman and a man have died and two people are missing following three separate incidents on Sydney waters in the past 24 hours.
Emergency services were called to Maroubra Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs about 4am on Thursday following reports a person had been swept out into the ocean.
Authorities were told a 25-year-old woman had been hit by a wave and knocked into a tidal pool, before swells carried her further into the ocean.
A multi-agency search located the woman, believed to be a Chinese national, about an hour later but she could not be revived.
Meanwhile, a search is underway for a swimmer believed to be missing at Coogee Beach.
The alarm was raised at 6am when a man believed to be in his 20s got into trouble in the water.
He was with two other men, who were rescued by off-duty surf lifesavers.
The third man went underwater and is yet to be located. Surf Life Saving NSW personnel and emergency services remain at the scene.
Large waves, a 3-metre swell and squally conditions are hampering the search effort.
Teenage boy missing
A search is also due to resume for a 14-year-old boy who has been missing since the boat he was in capsized at the northern end of Palm Beach on New Year's Eve.
One man climbed onto rocks at Barrenjoey Headland and was winched to safety by emergency services before being taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Another man pulled from the water could not be revived and died at the scene.
Large swells are hampering search operations at Coogee Beach. Photo: ABC News / Danuta Kozaki
'Mass rescues' across coastline
Surf Life Saving New South Wales conducted 19 coastal rescues on Wednesday, with chief executive Stephen Pearce saying it marked a "terrible" start to the new year.
"We knew that New Year's Day was going to be very busy operationally for us because, statistically, we see that people are three times more likely to drown in that period rather than any other time during the year," he said.
"We had multiple mass rescues up and down the New South Wales coastline.
"[They were] predominantly groups of children, and fortunately they were rescued either by lifesavers or lifeguards.
"Last night at 6:50pm, off-duty lifesavers again rescued a 50-year-old male that was unconscious … and retrieved him and brought him to shore and commenced CPR until the ambulance arrived and he was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition.
"So this toll that we see at the moment could have been so much worse."
A number of Sydney beaches have been closed due to poor conditions on Thursday and Pearce has urged people to steer clear of the coast.
"Don't head down onto any rocky headlands or rock ledges because this is a period of time where we do see people swept into the ocean because of these swells," he said.
'Incredibly unpredictable' conditions
Coogee resident Anna said conditions started to deteriorate on New Year's Eve, saying she had never seen the beach "quite this rough".
"I swim each day, I was with mates and freak waves were coming and washing our clothes away … which has never happened," she said.
"The usually quiet pools were getting shut because the dangerous conditions were just too risky for people, even incredibly confident swimmers.
"The swell is huge and super choppy, incredibly unpredictable."
- ABC
