Two dead after drunken late night swim
A drunken late-night swim has ended in tragedy with two young men drowning in a Melbourne lake.
Police search and rescue found two bodies after a heroic rescue attempt from a nearby man failed to save them.
The man grabbed a surfboard and paddled onto the lake in an attempt to save two men who drowned during a drunken evening swim.
The men - one aged 19 and the other in his 30s - quickly got into trouble in the lake on Redleap Reserve at Mill Park on Sunday night.
"Unfortunately because of the effects of alcohol, two of them have got into trouble while swimming across the lake," Senior Sergeant Mark Smith said at the scene.
Water police searched the lake in the late hours of Sunday night. Source: 7 News
The drunken swim quickly ended in tragedy when the men reportedly attempted to swim across the lake. Source: 7 News
Witnesses were heard screaming for help, including a man who jumped into the water and began frantically searching for the men.
Neighbour Nathan Henderson heard the panicked calls, and helped police try to save the men.
Three police officers who arrived first on the scene spent minutes in the water trying to find the pair before a full-scale search began.
The mens' bodies were pulled from the water between 9.20pm and 10pm on Sunday, with friends and family of the 19-year-old victim reportedly still at the scene.
One witness said the men on the edge of the lake were hysterical. Source: 7 News
The lake's visibility is poor and the water is extremely deep, with a layer of floating mould and debris, according to Mr Henderson.
Residents in the Mill Park community have expressed their grief on social media.
"This is so terribly sad for their families and the community. The innocence of the lake is now tainted by the memory of these poor mens' deaths," one woman wrote.
