Emergency services have recovered the body of a 23-year-old man who went missing after he was dragged off by the current into treacherous rapids.
The man was swimming with friends in Melbourne’s Yarra River at 7.20am on Sunday at North Warrandyte in the city’s north-east when the strong flow swept him away.
His friends alerted police when they noticed he had become separated from the group and an extensive search was launched.
Police Air Wing, Search and Rescue Squad and State Emergency Service were called in to help with the efforts before the body of a man from Wantirna South was found around 1.30pm.
He was pronounced dead at the scene but is yet to be formally identified.
The body of a 23-year-old man has been pulled from the waters of the Yarra River in Melbourne’s north-east on Sunday morning (pictured, police at the scene)
The death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
It brings the total drowning deaths in the state to 20 after four extended members of one family died after being pulled from the waters off of Phillip Island.
The family members were Melbourne nurse Jagjeet Singh, 23, university students Kirti Bedi and Suhani Anand, both 20, and Reema Sondhi, 43.
Ms Sondhi was on a family holiday from India and had only been in Australia for two weeks.
Her husband, Sanjeev, was also dragged into the surf by a dangerous rip but was saved by rescuers.
The drowning tragedy is the worst in the state in almost 20 years.
Victoria Police acting assistant commissioner Karen Nyholm said the Forrest Caves Beach area was known for its dangerous surf conditions.
‘Yesterday afternoon there was an extended family at the beach area and four of those family members decided to take a wade in the waters,’ she said.
It comes just days after four people died in a single drowning accident on Phillip Island in the worst drowning tragedy in Victoria in almost 20 years (pictured, police at Phillip Island)
‘The waters down here are known for rips and treacherous conditions and unfortunately those four people were swept up in what we believe to be a rip condition.’
‘It’s certainly an absolutely tragic, tragic event,’ Life Saving Victoria’s general manager, Liam Krige, said after the Phillip Island deaths.
‘It just goes to highlight that important safety messaging of making sure that when you are heading out to the coastline, you do prioritise heading to a patrolled location and you do prioritise water safety.’
