By Maeve Bannister
A man has drowned at a beach on the NSW south coast as the summer water death toll across the nation continues to rise.
The latest death follows five drownings across Australian beaches since New Year’s Eve.
ACT and NSW Police along with multiple emergency service agencies were called to Greenpatch beach at the southern shore of Jervis Bay just before 5pm on Saturday.
There had been reports of multiple people struggling to stay afloat in rough conditions.
A 34-year-old NSW man was brought back to the beach and responders started CPR but he was declared dead at the scene.
Paramedics attended to three other people but none required further medical attention.
Royal Lifesaving Australia reports the national summer drowning toll, which counts the number of deaths since December 1 2025, is 29 as at Saturday, January 3.
This is less than on the same date last year when 46 people had drowned.
Last summer, 139 people lost their lives to drowning across Australia between December 1 2024 and February 28 2025, the equivalent of at least one drowning death every day.
Authorities are urging the public to make water safety a priority by preparing before they leave home and remaining vigilant around the water.
Rough conditions up and down the east coast have required surf lifesavers to perform hundreds of rescues across the nation’s beaches since Christmas Day.
Over the New Year period, the risk of drowning is three times greater than at any other time of the year.
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