A 35-year-old Irish man has drowned off a beach near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The man died at the popular Whitehaven Beach on Whitsunday Island at around 11am on Wednesday, ahead of New Year’s celebrations getting under way. The man is among a number of people who have died in separate incidents off the Australian coast in recent days. Separately, a 45-year-old woman died at Dunbogan Beach in New South Wales later yesterday after getting into difficulties in the water. A man believed to have been on board the boat died at the scene near Palm Beach, while another man was hospitalised.

Source: Irish Independent January 02, 2026 08:10 UTC