A late afternoon swim ended tragically for a man when he was caught in a rip current that led to his death. 

The man had entered the water at Clarke Bay around 5.30pm today, beyond the lifeguard service hours of 8am to 4pm, and soon found himself in distress.

He was pulled from the water by three brave beachgoers who witnessed his distress.

Peter Smith, Travis Gerber and Sheldon Goudge dove in to pull him from the water.

Once onshore, a holidaying nurse from the UK performed CPR, but despite all efforts, the man remained unresponsive.

“On arrival of paramedics CPR was continued, but despite the best efforts of paramedics, sadly the man was declared deceased, “ said IPSS Medical Rescue’s Kelsey-Jae Meyrick.

Clarke Bay is a lifeguard protected beach. However the lifeguards are only on duty from 8am until 4pm daily.

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