Tragic boating accident off 6-foot D-Bah leaves one dead and another hospitalized

Earlier today, as the Queensland-New South Wales maritime border was battered by two-metre-high waves, a 6.5-metre half-cabin racing boat capsized while attempting to cross the Tweed River Bar.

Rescue workers responded to reports of two men clinging to the overturned hull. One was rescued and taken to Tweed Heads Hospital, while the second, who was pulled lifeless from the sea by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter crew, could not be resuscitated.

The two men reportedly launched from the boat ramp on Kennedy Drive in the dark at low tide, which is supposedly the worst time to do so, and were promptly knocked over by a wave.

The entire incident occurred before 6 a.m.

And now, just around the corner…

The east coast points have been getting brighter over the last few days and this morning the swell reached its peak. What led the two men to break through an unpredictable and ever-changing Dbah in a small fishing boat before sunrise remains an ominous mystery.

At the time of the rescue, neither of the men was wearing life jackets.