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Search for teen's body lost in NSW surf

The search for a teenage boy, believed to have drowned in hazardous surf near Port Macquarie in NSW, has resumed.

Beach closed sign
A saltwater crocodile has been spotted just 20 metres from the most popular beach in Port Douglas. Source: AAP

A retrieval operation for the body of a teenage boy who went missing in rough surf off the NSW mid-north coast is continuing as distraught family members look on.

The 14-year-old, named by friends on social media as Bronson Rhodes, was swimming with two mates at Port Macquarie's Flynns Beach on Saturday afternoon when they got into difficulty and signalled for help.

Two of the boys were rescued but Bronson was unable to be saved.

His body was sighted by emergency services at the weekend but the retrieval operation had to be called off due to treacherous surf.

The boy's family were present when the search was suspended at 5.30pm on Monday and life-savers on jetskis will continue patrolling the waters over the following days, a NSW Police spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

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The incident comes less than two weeks after an 11-year-old ACT boy was caught in a rip in rough conditions at the nearby unpatrolled Lighthouse Beach.

Further north on the NSW coast, a 49-year-old British woman died after being pulled from the surf at Coffs Harbour on Sunday evening.

Last Wednesday, a man in his early 20s died after being pulled unconscious from the surf at Suffolk Park on the north coast

And on Monday afternoon, lifesavers at Bondi Beach pulled a man unconscious from the surf after he suffered a cardiac arrest, and he was taken to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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