‘Heroic’ surfers praised as body found in search for missing swimmer

A body has been recovered in the search for a missing 18-year-old man swept out to sea north of Sydney, as authorities praised heroic surfers who rescued another stricken swimmer.

The search resumed on Monday morning for the teenager who went missing at Soldiers Beach at Norah Head on the Central Coast. The body was recovered by police divers about 10.45am.

A 16-year-old boy and an 18-year-old man managed to get back to shore after the sandbar they were on collapsed on Sunday evening.

Another man, also 18, was rescued by the “heroic efforts” of nearby surfers.

“Without their intervention, we might be looking for two males,” NSW Police Superintendent Chad Gillies said.

Gillies said the four swimmers were Central Coast locals. The body is yet to be formally identified but is believed to be that of the missing swimmer.

Southerly swells up to three metres and winds of up to 15 knots had affected the search.

Soldiers Beach is patrolled, but was not at the time the young man was swept away. The incident comes after a man in his 50s died at the same beach in September.

One local told Nine News that Soldiers Beach was “a bad beach in my opinion”.

“I won’t even swim here, and I wouldn’t let my kids swim here when they were younger either,” the man said.

Central Coast Councillor Jared Wright said the drowning was “tragic”.

“It’s the second drowning at Soldiers Beach in just a few weeks, both of which I believe have happened after patrol hours,” he said.

“I will work alongside my council colleagues in the days and weeks ahead to see what can be done to address the issue.”

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