![\"Catherine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/9c50ad1714fc583d93fee87eba4d77bde353c5b8.png\")
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January 1, 2026 \u2014 7:35pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n A 35-year-old man has died at a popular central Queensland tourist beach, bringing the number of drownings in Australia this summer to 23.<\/p>\n Emergency services were called to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island after the Irish national was found unresponsive in the water about 11am on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Beachgoers said they were kept clear of the area while the man\u2019s body was recovered, with police confirming he died at the scene, and that they were preparing a report for the coroner.<\/p>\n The exact circumstances of the man\u2019s death were unknown.<\/p>\n Famous for its white sand, Whitehaven Beach, in the Whitsunday Islands National Park, is accessible only by boat, and is estimated to attract between 7000 and 8000 visitors per year.<\/p>\n Royal Life Saving Australia has so far recorded 22 drowning deaths for the 2025-26 summer, not including the 35-year-old found on Wednesday.<\/p>\n In Queensland, five people have drowned, placing it in equal second place with NSW.<\/p>\n The largest number of deaths occurred in Western Australia, where six drownings were recorded.<\/p>\n At the same time in the 2024-25 summer, 42 people had drowned \u2013 20 more than the current toll \u2013 and across the past five years, 36 people had drowned between the start of summer and January 1.<\/p>\n Related Article On Thursday in NSW, three people were feared dead after rough swells closed almost 70 beaches, most of them around Sydney<\/a>.<\/p>\n In the early hours of Thursday, a woman was pulled from the water at Dunbogan Beach, near Port Macquarie on the NSW central coast, and was unable to be revived by paramedics.<\/p>\n A second woman, aged 25, died at Sydney\u2019s Maroubra Beach after she was struck by a wave and dragged out to sea about 4am on New Year\u2019s Day. She was believed to be a Chinese national, but was yet to be formally identified.<\/p>\n In a separate incident, also in Sydney\u2019s south-west, three people were caught in large swells off Coogee Beach.<\/p>\n Two were rescued by off-duty lifesavers, but a man in his 20s was unable to be pulled in.<\/p>\n Emergency services continued to search into Thursday evening, but rescue and recovery efforts were disrupted by wild sea conditions.<\/p>\n In Queensland, another man died earlier in the week<\/a> as heavy rains dumped upwards of 1100 millimetres in some of the heaviest hit regions, just north of Townsville, between December 28 and 31.<\/p>\n The man, in his 70s, was driving near Normanton when his vehicle was overwhelmed by floodwater.<\/p>\n He was discovered on Tuesday, and police deemed his death as not suspicious.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/79f9c3221460915babd924545b8b1081a9e7f38ab2d921a9427f1a7d3b2d3698.jpeg\")
The 35-year-old Irish national died at Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.Catherine Strohfeldt<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/de527157f6a98327f09dec2541d3055d809f2cb3bced755063ce401389c7a47d.gif\")
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