Melbourne drowning: Bodies of two men pulled from Mill Park lake
Updated
Two men have drowned while trying to swim across a lake in Melbourne's north after drinking alcohol, police say, despite the efforts of a former lifeguard who came to their aid.
Key points:
- Several people tried to save the pair, including a former lifeguard
- Large search-and-rescue operation pulled the bodies out of the water after 9:30pm
- The drowned men had been drinking alcohol before their deaths, police say
Police said a 19-year-old man from Mernda and another man aged in his 30s were drinking alcohol with friends at Redleap Reserve about 6:30pm when they decided to try to swim across the lake at Mill Park.
Senior Sergeant Mark Smith said a large search-and-rescue operation involving the SES and Victoria Police was launched after a 21-year-old man tried to swim out and save the pair.
"He attempted to swim out and rescue his friends, and he started to feel the effects of water and alcohol himself," he said.
"He returned to shore and alerted passers by to contact police."
The men's bodies were pulled from the water between 9:30pm and 10:00pm.
Senior Sergeant Smith said the lake dropped to a depth of about two metres just offshore.
"Unfortunately one of those mixtures of alcohol and the activity certainly don't go together, and that's probably been the major contributor at this stage," he said.
Family and friends of the men were at the scene when the bodies were retrieved.
Former lifeguard tried to save men
Nathan Henderson, a former lifeguard who lives opposite the lake, said he raced to help after hearing screams.
"I ran downstairs and I could see the guy on the pier and he was just screaming for help," he said.
"I wasn't sure what was going on, I went over and spoke to him and as soon as he said his friends had gone under a policeman had arrived."
The 27-year-old said he sprinted home to get his surfboard to help rescue efforts.
"I jumped on the board, swam out trying to see if we could find anyone," he said.
"The water is murky, there's no clarity at all.
"It was cold. It was probably three or four metres deep in the deepest part. I couldn't see anything and we didn't find anything unfortunately."
Mr Henderson said in the five years he had lived in the area he had never seen anyone get in the lake.
"There's signs everywhere … that say that the water's contaminated, and just disgusting," he said.
"I've never seen anyone want to go in."
Topics: death, community-and-society, mill-park-3082
First posted
