A woman has drowned and there are grave fears for a missing man after a late night swim in big surf on the Gold Coast.
The pair was initially seen going into the ocean at Old Burleigh Rd, Broadbeach about 9.20pm on Thursday.
A woman in her late 20s was found laying unresponsive on the beach about half an hour later and emergency services were called.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man, believed to be in his early 30s, is missing and police are using land, air and sea resources to scour the water and local beaches.
His clothes were found on the beach.
"At this time, we are conducting a recovery mission," Acting Inspector John Diggle said on Friday.
"We don't expect to find anybody alive."
Several beaches are closed on the Gold Coast due to dangerous conditions and swimmers are reminded to stay between the flags.
