Fisherman dies after being swept from rocks on deadly Easter weekend

The rescue chopper found the teen and his father face down in the sea, unconscious, before winching them out.

The man died at the scene. He is yet to be identified.

His 14-year-old son was rushed to the Children’s Hospital at Randwick in a critical condition.

NSW Police are investigating.

It marks the worst Easter weekend on record for drownings in NSW with six dead and one missing.

On Easter Sunday there were 50 rescues in NSW with another 100 lives saved since Good Friday, 30 of them involving the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

Surf Life Saving NSW bosses say a combination of hot weather, the long weekend seeing people flock to the coast, as well as the “enormous” swell proved a deadly combination.

“For such a religious weekend, this has been absolutely horrific from a coastal drowning perspective,” SLSNSW CEO, Steve Pearce said.

“It would be the worst Easter drowning toll that we have seen in New South Wales on our records.”

Close calls include a rock fisherman at Bass Point on the south coast and another at Avoca further north.

At Coffs Harbour three swimmers were pulled from the water by lifesavers.

Meanwhile, a search has resumed for a Parramatta man swept into treacherous seas off rocks in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs on Good Friday.

The 24-year-old was walking on rocks with friends around 1pm at Little Bay Beach when a big wave swept him into the sea.

He didn’t resurface.

An urgent search was launched, with police, Marine Area Command, PolAir, Surf Life Saving NSW, Marine Rescue NSW, Ambulance paramedics and Randwick Council lifeguards involved.

It was called off by bad weather, but resumed on Saturday.

It has now restarted again, with Marine Rescue Botany Port Hacking among those involved.

Marine Rescue NSW Inspector Steve Raymond said they searched for more than seven hours yesterday.

Wild waves have been seen up and down the coast over the holiday, with experts issuing strong warnings.

In Victoria, a woman was killed after she was swept out to sea in San Remo, near Phillip Island.

She was walking with a group of friends when a large wave crashed over the rocks, dragging her and her husband out to sea.

A rescue mission was launched to try and find the husband. 

However, conditions have now eased in some areas, but beachgoers are still urged to take extra care.

The Bureau of Meteorology has cancelled a hazardous surf warning for Byron Coast, Coffs Coast and Macquarie Coast.

Boy dies after rock fall

A nine-year-old boy has died after he fell between rocks on the Mid North Coast of NSW.

He became stuck at South West Rocks early this afternoon.

He was pulled out by firefighters, but later died at the scene.