Emergency services will continue searching on Thursday morning for an 11-year-old boy who was dragged out to sea by hazardous surf on the NSW mid-north-coast.
Ambulance crews, Marine Rescue vessels including a jetski and a Surf Life Saving drone were forced to call off the search after looking until nightfall on Wednesday.
The 11-year-old was walking with his 17-year-old brother in shallow water at an unpatrolled part of Lighthouse Beach at Port Macquarie, with their mother nearby, when he was caught by a rip about 1.30pm.
The young boy was waist-deep when he was dragged out and his older brother tried to rescue him, NSW Police Inspector Peter Neville told reporters in Port Macquarie on Wednesday.
Large, powerful waves up to two metres were reported off the coast of Port Macquarie.
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The incident came just hours after Marine Rescue issued a warning that swells would be hazardous for boating, swimming and fishing along much of the NSW east coast.
