SLSA urge Australia Day safety: swim between the red and yellow flags

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to hit the beach over the Australia Day weekend, surf lifesavers are pleading for beach goers to make surf safety a priority and swim only between the red and yellow flags.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) have issued a statement saying "it has been a tough start to the new year for surf lifesavers with some beach goers choosing to ignore safety warnings and swim at unpatrolled locations.

"Tragically 44 people have lost their lives on Australian beaches since July 2009 - 19 of these drownings occurred during December 2009 and January 2010. That is significantly up from this time last year, with 27 drownings recorded from July 2008 and January 2009.

"This week saw the loss of two parents at South Ballina in northern New South Wales, who were swimming at an unpatrolled beach during late hours and were tragically were caught in a rip - by the time lifeguards and paramedics arrived on the scene they were unable to revive them.

SLSA's General Manager of Operations, Peter Agnew, said the message this Australia Day weekend is clear - swim between the red and yellow flags.

Agnew explained, "the red and yellow flags mark the safest place to swim - if we can't see you, we can't save you.

"Temperatures are set to soar over the coming days which means our beaches will be packed - but that doesn't mean people shouldnât make the effort to find a patrolled beach and stay between the red and yellow flags.

"We don't want any more families losing their parents, children or loved ones this summer. The recent incident near Ballina shows us how in minutes people can lose their lives by swimming outside of patrolled times.

"Rip currents continue to be the major cause of drownings on our beaches and the common cause for rescues performed by our surf lifesavers.

"The best way for people to avoid rips is to swim only at a patrolled beach. However if people do find themselves caught in a rip, remember not to panic, donât try to swim against the rip and if you are a confident swimmer, swim parallel to the beach.

"Australia boasts some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and our army of red and yellow volunteers will be out in force to make sure people can enjoy them safely."

Since October 2009, surf lifesavers across the country have performed more than 4,470 rescues and 87,900 preventative actions.

For more information go to www.beachsafe.org.au