A woman has died in a tragic New Year’s Day scuba diving accident at a popular Gold Coast swimming spot.
Emergency services were called to Wave Break Island, in Biggera Waters, at 10.10am on Wednesday after the woman was pulled unresponsive from the ocean at Main Beach.
A spokesperson for the Queensland ambulance service said five crews were sent to the scene.
They treated a single female patient in a life-threatening condition after a scuba diving incident, the spokesperson said. She was later declared dead at the scene. Police will prepare a report for the coroner after the incident.
According to Surf Life Saving Australia, 35 people have drowned since 1 December, 22 of them in a coastal area. All but two fatalities were male, and all of them occurred outside the flags. Four people perished in Queensland.
There have been 1,385 rescues so far this summer.
The Royal Life Saving Australia data shows drownings have spiked in 2024, with the death rate 20% higher than the five-year average, but slightly lower than the number of deaths recorded this time in 2023.
Life savers said the week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day was the deadliest time to be in and on the water.
Wave Break Island was created in 1985 to protect the main beaches from heavy weather.
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It is also popular for snorkellers and scuba divers, according to the local waterways authority.
The incident also follows the death of an Australian man on his honeymoon in Bali on Monday.
The man, from South Australia, was reportedly swimming with his wife at Pasut beach, a quiet and less commercialised spot not heavily frequented by tourists.
