A second man has died after three men were swept off rocks into the sea while fishing at Port Kembla earlier this evening.
Emergency services were alerted after three men were swept into the sea just before 7pm (Friday 12 February 2021), at Hill 60 near Fishermans Beach.
Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District, Highway Patrol, Surf LifeSavers Australia, NSW Ambulance paramedics and the Toll helicopter crew attended the scene and began searching for the men.
A Highway Patrol officer entered the sea with a flotation device and swam out to two of the men. A SLSA crew in an IRB reached the men and the officer about 7.30pm, and they were taken to Port Kembla beach.
CPR was initiated on one of the men; however, he died at the scene. He has now been identified as a 30-year-old man from Lakemba.
The police officer and the second man, aged 42 from Wiley Park, were not injured.
About the same time, the Toll Helicopter crew had winched the third man from the sea; he was taken to Wollongong Hospital in a critical condition but died a short time later. He is yet to be formally identified.
None of the men were wearing life jackets.
The rock platform is the same location where three men died on Friday 22 January 2021 after they were also swept into the sea while fishing.
Two other police officers suffered minor injuries during the rescue operation. They are being assessed at Wollongong Hospital.
Investigators are appealing for anyone with vision of the incident, and subsequent emergency response, to contact Lake Illawarra Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
A report will be prepared for the information of the Coroner.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report information via NSW Police social media pages.
