Ankur Chhabra lost four members of his family in one day when they drowned at a beach. He hopes signs can be made clearer so others know the dangers of swimming on unpatrolled beaches.
When Amrita and Ankur Chhabra set off for a family outing from Melbourne in late January, they didn't even plan to go to the beach.
The beach is popular due to its dramatic caves, which are accessible at low tide. But it is not patrolled. A tragedy was unfolding. Four family members who'd been carried into the surf were recovered from the water one-by-one.Almost immediately the call went out for help from passers-by like Jason Close, who came from the nearby Woolamai Beach Surf Life Saving Club within minutes.
"I went straight to group and I started administering CPR there for the next probably 40 minutes," he said."They were in tears, they were distraught … they had police with them. I think there was some lifesavers with them. So it was pretty traumatic," Mr Clark said. There were 16 rip current drowning deaths. All of them took place outside of the flags, which indicate areas patrolled by lifesavers and lifeguards.