{"id":329809,"date":"2026-05-05T23:27:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=329809"},"modified":"2026-05-05T23:27:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T17:57:24","slug":"volunteer-rescuers-amongst-3-dead-after-yacht-capsizes-off-australian-coast-national","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/05\/volunteer-rescuers-amongst-3-dead-after-yacht-capsizes-off-australian-coast-national\/","title":{"rendered":"Volunteer rescuers amongst 3 dead after yacht capsizes off Australian coast &#8211; National"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p>Three people have died, including two volunteer sea rescue employees who were called to the scene, after a yacht got stuck in choppy waters and capsized off the coast of Latest South Wales (NSW), Australia.<\/p>\n<p>An emergency response team was deployed after a bystander reported a vessel in distress near the South Ballina break wall in northern Latest South Wales at about 6:15 p.m local time on Monday, state police told Global News in a press release.<\/p>\n<p>It was unknown how many individuals were on the yacht, which has since sunk, authorities said.<\/p>\n<p>The boat was caught in treacherous conditions when it flipped, and the rescue vessel capsized in a 2.5-metre easterly swell while attempting to cross the Ballina Bar, a notoriously dangerous entrance to the Richmond River, police said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"tp_video_miniplayer\">\n<section id=\"miniplayer_69fa2f0aea7e5-carousel\" class=\"l-videoCarousel l-videoCarousel--embed c-carousel\" data-video-carousel-play-inline=\"true\" data-video-carousel-init=\"false\" aria-label=\"Video carousel contains 5 videos.\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__inner\">\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__featured\">\n<div class=\"c-video c-videoPlay \" data-iframe-receiver=\"\" data-autoplay=\"\" data-displayinline-featured=\"true\" data-displayinline-type=\"video\" 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\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"c-video__image\" alt=\"Click to play video: 'One dead after Leeds County boating accident'\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.globalnews.ca\/videostatic\/news\/1i0t58i24s-mplnpq8mm5\/6Mo-FATAL_BOAT_pkg.jpg?w=1040&#038;quality=70&#038;strip=all\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"\" sizes=\"auto, \" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1040px) 1040px,(min-width: 720px) 720px,450px\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__overlay\"><\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"c-video__duration\">1:09<\/time><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-video__title\">One dead after Leeds County boating accident<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-videoCarousel__glide glide \">\n<div class=\"glide__arrows c-carousel__buttons l-videoCarousel__buttons\" data-glide-el=\"controls\">\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--left c-carousel__button c-carousel__prev l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__prev c-longform-gallery__prev\" data-glide-dir=\"<\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Previous Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t<button class=\"glide__arrow glide__arrow--right c-carousel__button c-carousel__next l-videoCarousel__button l-videoCarousel__next c-longform-gallery__next\" data-glide-dir=\">&#8220;><\/p>\n<p>\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Next Video<\/span><br \/>\n\t<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t<button class=\"c-carousel__goto\" data-glide-dir=\"=0\" aria-hidden=\"true\" tabindex=\"-1\"><\/button>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t<!-- video stream item --><\/p>\n<\/section><\/div>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Commissioner Todd Andrews of Marine Rescue NSW <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinerescuensw.com.au\/news-media\/news\/a-tragic-loss-of-two-marine-rescue-ballina-volunteers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">confirmed in a press release on Tuesday<\/a> the deaths of two of its team members, identified by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2026-05-05\/nsw-three-dead-ballina-boating-accident\/106641384\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian Broadcasting Corporation<\/a> (ABC) as Frank Petsch and Bill Ewen.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup\" data-newsletter-inline=\"\">\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"170\" height=\"225\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/globalnews.ca\/wp-content\/themes\/shaw-globalnews\/images\/skyline\/national.jpg\" alt=\"Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won't miss a trending story.\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"c-inlineSignup__content\">\n<h2 class=\"c-inlineSignup__title\">Get breaking National news<\/h2>\n<p>Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox because it happens so you will not miss a trending story.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cTragically, two of our volunteers lost their lives throughout the response,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Andrews called the deaths of 62-year-old Petsch and 78-year-old Ewen \u201ca devastating loss\u201d and said their passing was a \u201csolemn reminder of the risks faced by volunteers who serve their communities.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese two men were serving their area people and have made the last word sacrifice to assist others,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and family members of the deceased, their fellow crew members, the brave radio operators who handled the difficult communications throughout the incident, your complete Marine Rescue NSW family and the broader Ballina community during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Supt. Joe McNulty of the NSW Police Marine Area told ABC it was a \u201cvery difficult rescue\u201d and described the conditions as \u201ctreacherous.\u201d He said some marine rescue staff became trapped within the hull, while others were thrown from the vessel, before commending those involved for his or her heroic efforts.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-tabs\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab c-tabs__tab--active\" type=\"button\">More on World<\/button><br \/>\n\t\t\t<button role=\"tab\" class=\"c-tabs__tab\" type=\"button\">More videos<\/button>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"l-article__part\" data-shortcode=\"caption\">\n<figure class=\"c-figure c-figure--alignnone c-figure--expandable\">\n<div class=\"c-figure__inner\"><figcaption class=\"c-figure__caption c-caption\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"c-caption__desc\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\tHuge waves crash against the North Wall brought on by Cyclone Alfred on March 4, 2025, in Ballina, Australia.\t\t\t\t<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<cite class=\"c-caption__cite\"><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tJames D. Morgan\/Getty Image\t\t\t\t<\/cite><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>4 other crew members \u2013 aged 55, 75 and two aged 61 \u2013 made it to shore and were treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for various injuries before being taken to hospital for further treatment, Latest South Wales police said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"c-ad c-ad--bigbox l-article__ad\">\n<p>Story continues below commercial<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The body of the 78-year-old rescue volunteer was removed by Westpac Lifesaver Helicopter, and the 62-year-old volunteer was found dead on the shore, police said. Each were Ballina locals, the ABC reported.<\/p>\n<p>The body of a 3rd victim, a person in his 50s who has not been formally identified, was also found washed ashore with out a life-jacket, in line with the Australian news agency.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat Marine Rescue boat had six crew members on it last night, and thankfully those other members are well with minor injuries in hospital and being kept there for precautionary reasons,\u201d McNulty said, in line with ABC.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese men are heroes,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>\n\t\t&#038;copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three people have died, including two volunteer sea rescue employees who were called to the scene, after a yacht got stuck in choppy waters and capsized off the coast of Latest South Wales (NSW), Australia. An emergency response team was deployed after a bystander reported a vessel in distress near the South Ballina break wall [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":329810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20691],"tags":[784,1573,33763,6113,1436,1903,35400,23798,15538],"class_list":["post-329809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world","tag-among","tag-australian","tag-capsizes","tag-coast","tag-dead","tag-national","tag-rescuers","tag-volunteer","tag-yacht"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=329809"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":329812,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/329809\/revisions\/329812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/329810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=329809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=329809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=329809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}