In a tragic Easter weekend on the New South Wales Mid North Coast, two surfers have died in separate incidents about 150 kilometres apart.
Both were pulled unconscious from the ocean within an hour of each other on Sunday afternoon.
In the first incident, a 64-year-old man from Saratoga is believed to have had a medical incident. He was pulled from the water at Killick Beach at Hat Head, north of Port Macquarie, at about 4pm.
Other surfers and people on the beach performed CPR until police and paramedics arrived but he was unable to be revived and died at the scene.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be conducted this week to determine the cause of death and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
Less than an hour later, the region's rescue helicopter pulled an unconscious man from the surf at Minnie Water, about 150km further north.
The 48-year-old was taken to shore where CPR was performed but he too was declared dead at the scene.
Witnesses have been spoken to by police and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
'Swim between the flags'
Chris Samuels from Surf Life Saving NSW said the events were saddening and urged people to only swim at patrolled beaches.
"Two people [have died] in such a short amount of time," he said.
"Our thoughts go out to family and friends and the volunteers who have assisted with that.
