![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/a-marine-rescue-nsw-crew-file-image-source-facebook-marine-r-YVOM7BMWGJFTFN6CLL3TOEHGYU.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAn Australian coastal community is devastated after two marine rescue volunteers died when venturing in treacherous conditions in a failed mission to save a yachtsman in distress.<\/p>\n
The pair were deployed as part of a six-person Marine Rescue NSW team after a good Samaritan saw the stricken yacht near South Ballina breakwall, in the state’s north, on Monday night.<\/p>\n
But the conditions were “extremely difficult” and the rescue vessel soon capsized while battling the 2.5 metre swell and strong winds.<\/p>\n
Although four members of the team made it to shore, the body of a 78-year-old rescuer was recovered by a helicopter and a 62-year-old volunteer was found dead on the sand.<\/p>\n
The body of a man in his 50s, who had been on board the sinking yacht, was found ashore without a life jacket.<\/p>\n
Ballina Shire Council Mayor Sharon Cadwallader said volunteers were the heart of her community.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A Marine Rescue NSW crew (file image). (Source: Facebook \/ Marine Rescue NSW) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n
“To lose two courageous, brave volunteers for Marine Rescue is deeply saddening and we are devastated,” she told AAP.<\/p>\n
“They answered the call of duty to save lives, they never hesitated to answer that call, and that’s courage on steroids \u2013 that’s bravery.<\/p>\n
“It’s a tragic event of epic proportions. Our community will grieve and never forget what’s happened.”<\/p>\n
One of the surviving volunteers was forced to scramble up a rock wall with a broken leg and four broken ribs.<\/p>\n
Two others were hospitalised with more minor injuries and the remaining survivor did not require treatment.<\/p>\n
All survivors are expected to make a full physical recovery, but the mental health injuries could be substantial, Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Todd Andrews said.<\/p>\n
“Last night was the darkest night ever experienced by Marine Rescue NSW,” Andrews said.<\/p>\n
Locals have shown their support by leaving flowers at the Marine Rescue tower, and a fundraiser has been set up to raise money for a replacement rescue vessel, with Cherry Sports Group Ballina committing $25,000 to the cause.<\/p>\n
Conditions were extremely treacherous when the rescuers took to the sea at about 6pm, according to NSW Police Marine Area Command Superintendent Joe McNulty.<\/p>\n
Swell and winds had created a wave that was difficult to navigate, manoeuvre and enter from the river system.<\/p>\n
The rescue boat overturned on the bar as they were transferring between the river and ocean systems, ejecting some volunteers from the boat and trapping others in its hull.<\/p>\n
McNulty said the crew’s courage in the face of such dangerous conditions was heroic.<\/p>\n
“These men are heroes,” McNulty said.<\/p>\n
“They volunteer their lives to save others and went out last night in difficult sea conditions to a vessel in distress to save the life of another man.”<\/p>\n
The in-distress yacht eventually hit the breakwall, causing it to fall apart and sink, and the rescue boat is also unlikely to be retrievable.<\/p>\n
A NSW Police dive team will consider entering the waters later in the week to recover evidence as part of an investigation into the incident.<\/p>\n
Search operations have been suspended as police believe all onboard the yacht have been accounted for.<\/p>\n
Premier Chris Minns thanked the volunteers for their service.<\/p>\n
“I want to pay tribute to their heroism, their sense of courage, their public-mindedness, and let them know that the people of NSW are in their corner today,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Ballina Marine Rescue NSW base will be closed for at least three days, but neighbouring units will be able to respond to vessel rescues.<\/p>\n
Asked if the boat used by the rescuers \u2013 a Ballina 30 \u2013 was appropriate for the mission, McNulty said it was “very well built” and designed in NSW for the state’s conditions.<\/p>\n
All of the volunteer team were experienced and had necessary qualifications, Andrews said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An Australian coastal community is devastated after two marine rescue volunteers died when venturing in treacherous conditions in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":412958,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1081,85,42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-412957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-accident","tag-australia","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=412957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/412957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/412958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=412957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=412957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=412957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}