This incident marks the deadliest in victorian waters in nearly two decades officials said on Thursday. The emergency services rushed to Newhaven after receiving reports around 3:30 pm on wednesday, finding all four individuals unresponsive in the water, as reported by news.com.
Taking to X formerly known as Twitter, the Indian High Commission in Canberra on Thursday posted on X, the tragic drowning.
“Heartbreaking tragedy in Australia: 4 Indians lost their lives in a drowning incident at Phillip Island, Victoria. Deepest condolences to the families of the victims.”
Kane Treloar, the Life Saving Victoria state agency commander, said, “Life Saving Victoria was called to assist four people in trouble in the waters off Forrest Caves on Phillip Island, only a couple of kilometres from our patrolled lifeguard site.”
“Upon arriving at the scene, our lifeguards found that off-duty lifeguards had pulled three of those people from the water and one of our rescue boats pulled that last person from the water,” He added.
“Despite the efforts of all involved, three of those people unfortunately passed away,” Treloar said.
Victoria Police Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner, Karen Nyholm, disclosed on Thursday that the victims included a man and two women in their 20s, along with a woman in her 40s. Three individuals lost their lives on the scene, while the fourth woman in her 20s was urgently transported to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, where she later succumbed to the incident.
(With input from agencies)