A man in his 30s has died and four other swimmers rescued after an incident at the Moore River in Guilderton.
Emergency services received reports of multiple swimmers in distress at 10:45am on Tuesday and sent five ambulances to the scene.
Police received reports of multiple swimmers in distress just before 11am on Tuesday.Â
Police said five swimmers were pulled from the water by bystanders, but one, a 38-year-old man, could not be revived by paramedics.
The remainder of the swimmers were treated at the scene, police said.
Police say five swimmers were pulled from the water. (ABC News)
A witness who arrived in the small coastal town after the incident told the ABC it appeared a defibrillator had been used near the river mouth close to the local caravan park.
He said police had cleared the area and had cordoned off the scene.
Confronting scene
Witness Ashley Gould was at the scene when the situation turned from “bad to worse” and feared her children would be traumatised after seeing people dragged from the water.
“It was quite confronting,” she said.
She described the conditions at the popular swimming spot as “pretty still” and “really flat”.
Ashley Gould’s children witnessed people being pulled from the water. (ABC News: Blake Kagi)
Ms Gould said the community had banded together at the scene, with about 20 people on the beach offering help.Â
“There was a lot of people doing good work, everyone helped played a part,” Ms Gould said.
A report will be prepared for the WA coroner.
Guilderton is a holiday town about an hour north of Perth. School holidays began in WA this week.
In 2019, a seven-year-old girl drowned at Moore River while on an outing with her family.
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