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Melbourne lake drowning victim named

One of two men who drowned after a late night swim at a Melbourne lake has been identified as 19-year-old Haydyn Gibbons.

Police tape restricts access to a crime scene
Source: AAP

A tribute has been written on a bollard next to a Melbourne lake where two men died after a drunken night swim turned to tragedy.

Haydyn Gibbons, 19, and another man in his 30s, died when they got into trouble while swimming in a lake on Redleap Reserve at Mill Park on Sunday night.

A large floral tribute, with a bottle of beer and a can of whiskey and dry, has been left on a small pier next to the lake, a message written on a bollard in black texta.

It reads: "To our little brother Haydyn, may you rest in peace beautiful boy. We love you always, forever young'.

Friend Chelsea Ruby Nesci said Mr Gibbons he had been living with her family for the past four years.

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"Nobody could prepare me for what has unfolded tonight," Ms Nesci wrote on Facebook on Sunday.

"Never did I think I'd be coming home to your empty bedroom - I'm sitting here wide awake, still in shock that you're no longer with us."

Witnesses were heard screaming for more people to help on Sunday night, including one man who jumped into the water and began frantically searching for his friends.

Neighbour Nathan Henderson heard the panicked calls, and helped police try to save the men.

"A police officer arrived and jumped in. So I sprinted home, grabbed a surfboard so we had something to float on... and then we started searching the lake," he told the Nine Network.

"(One of their friends) was just rolling on the floor, crying, and just devastated."

Three police officers who arrived first on the scene spent 15 minutes in the water trying to find the pair before a full-scale search began.

The mens' bodies were pulled from the water around 10pm on Sunday.

Friends and family of the 19-year-old victim were there as rescuers recovered his body.

Senior Sergeant Mark Smith said the men were affected by alcohol.

"Unfortunately because of the effects of alcohol, two of them have got into trouble while swimming across the lake," he said at the scene.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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