12 people rescued from beaches in 2 hours

Twelve people have been rescued from NSW beaches within just two hours and lifesavers are urging the public to remain aware of beach safety warnings.

About 8am on Friday, a member of the public rescued a man after he got into trouble and became distressed on the north side of Austinmer Beach in Wollongong during unpatrolled hours.

Just moments later, seven teenagers became stuck in a dangerous rip at the opposite end of the beach and were rescued by members of the public and an off-duty lifesaver.

Of the eight rescued swimmers, two males and one female were assessed by NSW Ambulance paramedics, but a spokeswoman said the swimmers did not require further treatment in hospital.

The beach was quickly closed by surf lifesavers, with 60 beachgoers told to stay out of the water until 9am when patrols began due to significant water movement and high tide.

More than two hours later a third rescue was conducted on the northside of Woonona Beach in Wollongong after four males were caught in a large rip outside the flagged section of the popular beach.

“A member of the public (and) a lifeguard on a board raced down and paddled out and a surf lifesaving jet ski helped ferry all of them back to shore safely, where they were checked over by lifeguards,” Surf Life Saving Illawarra duty officer Anthony Turner said.

Mr Turner said the rescues were a reminder of how dangerous it was to swim at unpatrolled locations and outside the red and yellow flags.

“It just shows you how quickly things can change … and if there’s no lifesaver or flags up it generally means that the beach is closed,” he said.

“We ask that people look on the Beach Safe app and look at the operational times for the beaches … and beach safety warnings that are available.”

The rescues come as four people from an extended Indian family died at Forrest Cave Beach in Victoria on Wednesday after they became stuck in a dangerous rip.