A man in his 30s has died and four other swimmers rescued after an incident at the Moore River in Guilderton.<\/p>\n
Emergency services received reports of multiple swimmers in distress at 10:45am on Tuesday and sent five ambulances to the scene.<\/p>\n
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Police received reports of multiple swimmers in distress just before 11am on Tuesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police said five swimmers were pulled from the water by bystanders, but one, a 38-year-old man, could not be revived by paramedics.<\/p>\n
The remainder of the swimmers were treated at the scene, police said.<\/p>\n
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Police say five swimmers were pulled from the water. (ABC News)<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He said police had cleared the area and had cordoned off the scene.<\/p>\n
Confronting scene<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“It was quite confronting,” she said.<\/p>\n
She described the conditions at the popular swimming spot as “pretty still” and “really flat”.<\/p>\n
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Ashley Gould’s children witnessed people being pulled from the water. (ABC News: Blake Kagi)<\/p>\n
Ms Gould said the community had banded together at the scene, with about 20 people on the beach offering help.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“There was a lot of people doing good work, everyone helped played a part,” Ms Gould said.<\/p>\n
A report will be prepared for the WA coroner.<\/p>\n
Guilderton is a holiday town about an hour north of Perth. School holidays began in WA this week.<\/p>\n