Man drowns while trying to save 11-year-old daughter

A 45-year-old man from Lennox Head drowned while trying to save his daughter after she was swept out to sea at a beach in New South Wales, Australia.

The tragic incident took place on Wednesday at Seven Mile Beach in Lennox Head. The man had gone to the beach with his wife and their three children. He swam out to rescue his 11-year-old daughter after she was swept out to sea on her bodyboard.

Later, his wife swam out when neither of them managed to get back to the shore. She managed to bring her daughter back to the beach, but there was no sign of her husband.

She alerted the authorities, following which two police officers jumped into the sea to find the man but were unsuccessful, according to a report in The Mirror.

His body was later retrieved by surf lifesavers. Paramedics gave him CPR but were unable to save him. The woman and her daughter were allowed to go home after being treated by paramedics.

According to the police, the beach was not being patrolled by lifeguards when the incident occurred. They have launched an investigation into the matter and have appealed to people to come forward if they have any information about the incident.

This was the third such incident reported in the state this summer. On New Year's Day, an off-duty police officer drowned while saving his 14-year-old son from a rip current at an unpatrolled beach in New South Wales.

"It's completely understandable that, as parents, we would go to the aid of our kids in trouble without question," said Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce. "Sadly, it so often ends in tragedies like this."

In December last year, two teenage girls died in a tragic boating accident. The girls, aged 13 and 14, were riding on an inflatable "biscuit" towed behind a speedboat on Lake Keepit when the incident occurred.

The authorities have urged people to stay careful and cautious when they go swimming.