A 57-year-old interstate tourist has died at a popular Northern Territory swimming hole.
Police divers recovered the body of the man at Edith Falls in Nitmiluk National Park, north of Katherine.
The ABC reports that the specialist dive team had found the man’s body 21 metres below the water’s surface near the spot witnesses reported seeing the man slip beneath the water.
The police operation also involved specialist search and rescue officers, watercraft with sonar technology, and underwater and overhead drones.
Senior Sergeant Paul Wood, who led the search and rescue operation, said the man and his family had swum about 100 metres into the lower pool at Edith Falls, towards the waterfalls, when the 57-year-old man ‘started to struggle’.
Theer are stunning swimming holes across the NT ... but they can be dangerous. PIC: sandgroper / Pixabay water
“[He] was observed by witnesses to go under the water surface, and he failed to resurface,” he said.
Senior Sergeant Wood said low visibility, as well as underwater rocks and debris, had presented challenges for police searching the area.
Chris Anwyl, who is travelling across the NT and WA, was at Edith Falls when police began their search.
He told the ABC that swimming in the upper pool was beautiful that day, and it wasn’t ‘too cold that would cause you to lose your breath’”, but he noticed water in the lower pool was murky.
“You might have plans to enjoy the environment and suddenly something like that happens, it’s sort of a reality check to just be careful.”
Police said they don’t currently think the death to be suspicious, and was the result of a medical incident.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
WIN ONE OF THREE SKID ROW TRAILER SKIDS
Grey Nomad members are being given the opportunity to win one of three Skid Row Trailer Skids (each valued at $199). The ingenious Australian-designed device could come to the rescue of nomads who find their trailer or van stuck on sand, mud, or worse.
Manufactured from high-grade polypropylene, the ‘skid’ has been designed for use with or without the jockey wheel to accommodate different conditions in the retrieval process. The device is very compact (77cm x 39cm x 21cm), making it easy for grey nomads to store, and it weighs just 3.8 kilograms.
Click here to find out more.
