A large group of tourists were rescued from Birubi Beach overnight, just two days after a man lost his life at the same location.
Just after 7pm last night, Surf Lifesaving NSW was alerted to a situation unfolding at the beach when a member of the public phone triple zero to report four people struggling in a rip around 100m offshore.
Rescue crews and police arrived on scene to find it was actually seven people who were in trouble.
Luckily all but one managed to self rescue, the other was helped by a member of the public.
The group of people were tourists from outside the area and had been swimming after patrols had ceased for the day.
It’s the third critical incident at the Port Stephen beach in less than a fortnight, with a man drowning at Birubi on December 16. A second man died on Wednesday.
Additional assets from Sydney have since arrived to help local volunteers conduct dusk patrols in a bid to prevent further tragedies.