he bodies of two Japanese teenagers were found in Lake McKenzie on Queensland's Fraser Island after being reported missing from a school tour.
Questions are now being asked about how the boys, both aged 16, drowned at the popular tourist destination, described as "a calm lake in the middle of an island" by the local mayor.
Emergency services launched a search and rescue operation near Lake Mackenzie on World Heritage-listed Fraser Island off the Queensland state coast late Friday after the boys were reported missing.
Police located the bodies in the water about 8.20am on Saturday.
"This is a tragic event, there is no doubt about that," police inspector Tony Clowes told reporters Saturday.
Clowes said there was nothing to immediately indicate suspicious circumstances surrounding the drowning, but said more would be known as they prepare a coroners report.
Fraser Island.
Supplied
The public need to be aware of their swimming abilities before entering Australian waters, Clowes added.
"Be aware that if you are entering water there is some inherent risk with entering waterways in this country," he said
Clowes said families of the boys have been notified and authorities were working with the Japanese consulate to provide support.
Fraser Coast Mayor George Seymour told the ABC the deaths had shocked the community.
