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.
Emergency services were called to Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island after the Irish national was found unresponsive in the water about 11am on Wednesday.
Beachgoers said they were kept clear of the area while the man’s body was recovered, with police confirming he died at the scene, and that they were preparing a report for the coroner.
The 35-year-old Irish national died at Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island.Credit: Catherine Strohfeldt
The exact circumstances of the man’s death were unknown.
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.
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.
In Queensland, five people have drowned, placing it in equal second place with NSW.
The largest number of deaths occurred in Western Australia, where six drownings were recorded.
At the same time in the 2024-25 summer, 42 people had drowned – 20 more than the current toll – and across the past five years, 36 people had drowned between the start of summer and January 1.
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