Rookie surfer drowns in wild seas alongside friend who tried to save him

Two men drowned off Frankston Pier on Wednesday afternoon after a rookie surfer’s board snapped and his friend jumped into wild seas in a desperate bid to save him.

Detective Inspector Melissa Nixon, speaking at a press conference on Thursday morning, said the surfer was a 36-year-old British national and his friend was a 43-year-old man.

Nixon said a police rescuer was also taken to hospital after he rappelled down from a helicopter to pluck the men from the churning sea and swallowed water.

He has now been discharged, but Nixon lamented that people had put themselves at risk and agreed the two deaths were preventable.

“It’s only the early stages of the investigation, but it appears he [the surfer] was only just learning to surf,” she said.

“The weather conditions yesterday [Wednesday] obviously were not appropriate to be in the water surfing, whether you are experienced or you’re not experienced.”

Nixon said both men lived in Frankston, but police were still working to notify next-of-kin overseas.

“The surfer was obviously in distress. He was struggling in the water after the surfboard broke. He wasn’t experienced in surfing,” she said.

“His friend obviously saw he was in distress and jumped in to help.”

Extreme winds reaching 130km/h wreaked havoc across Victoria on Wednesday, bringing down trees and cutting power to thousands of homes.

Emergency services were called to Frankston Beach shortly before 4.45pm following reports two men were in trouble.

A Victoria Police helicopter was used to winch the unresponsive men from the turbulent sea, but they could not be saved.

“Do not go swimming or surfing in conditions like this,” Nixon said on Thursday.

“You put yourself at risk, you put people who jump into help you at risk. It’s clearly not appropriate to go into the water.”

Frankston Mayor Kris Bolam said he felt terrible when he heard sirens near the beach on Wednesday evening.

“It’s very unfortunate, and our thoughts definitely go out to the family,” he said. “The sad reality is this was an avoidable situation.”

Bolam said the council would review warning signs and suggested the state government could do more to close Frankston Pier – which Parks Victoria manages – in wild weather.

“But also, every man and his dog yesterday knew what was going on in Melbourne with the weather conditions,” he said.

Bolam defended a council social media post on Wednesday night that incorrectly said the two men were swept off the pier.

The mayor said the council shared “the most prevalent version” of what reportedly occurred and updated the post on Thursday after police said the men entered the water themselves.

“I think the focus right now needs to be on the two people that passed, not on whether the council put out the right article or not,” Bolam said. “It has been rectified. I don’t understand the issue.”

Life Saving Victoria executive adviser Paul Shannon said people needed to be aware of their limitations around water, even when attempting a rescue.

“Risking your own life can turn one catastrophe into two or three,” he said.

The best option was to ring Triple Zero and look for a flotation device, Shannon said.

Meanwhile, the weather in Frankston was much calmer on Thursday, but only a few joggers braved the strong offshore breeze.

Frankston local Hans Vanderstandt saw a police officer being winched up and down from a helicopter several times on Wednesday as they tried to rescue the men.

“It wasn’t good. The waves were actually breaking up across the pier and the wind was incredibly strong,” he said.

Another local, Jeff Svigos, said he had never experienced such fierce wind.

“I don’t know why you’d be in the water when it’s so treacherous,” he said.

The State Emergency Service was swamped with more than 1400 calls, including more than 1000 fallen tree reports.

Gusts of up to 130km/h were recorded at Wilsons Promontory, while the winds in Melbourne peaked at 96km/h in St Kilda.

Power companies were still working to restore power to hundreds of households on Thursday morning. On Wednesday evening, 13,111 homes were without electricity across the state.

A severe weather warning for more destructive winds has been cancelled, as the low-pressure system moves into the Tasman Sea and towards New Zealand, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

“The impacts of this battering were pretty extensive,” said senior meteorologist Angus Hines.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.