Authorities in Australia have reported that two teens drowned after one of them dove into the ocean to try to save the other.
Following a search and rescue effort, the 17-year-old girl and boy were “located deceased at a waterfall in Yandina on the Sunshine Coast” on Sunday, January 19, according to a statement from Queensland Police.
The missing girl “was located unresponsive and deceased, in the water, by emergency services” forty minutes after the search and rescue operation began at approximately 2:50 p.m. local time, according to authorities, “utilising Queensland Fire Department and Police divers.”
According to the release, police divers found the missing youngster “unresponsive and deceased, in the water, at about 7:25 p.m.”
According to the announcement, “Police will prepare reports for the coroner for both the girl and the boy,” reaffirming that Wappa Falls will remain closed while the inquiry is conducted. According to Sky News Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), and 9 News, the youngsters were named as Honour Ward and her friend Beau Liddell. Adam Liddell, Beau’s father, told ABC that “the whole family is just a mess” after his son passed away.
According to the publication, he described his son’s attempt to save his friend as “that’s the type of person he was,” adding, “He never thought of himself first.” “She was just always there for everybody, no matter what she was going through herself,” according to Honor’s friend Phoebe Loynd-Andersson, according to the publication. “[She] just wanted to be there for other people and she would encourage people,” she said.
According to ABC, the teenagers were both former Sunshine Beach State High School students.
According to the publication, the same swimming area has had at least five fatalities since 2007. To keep informed about the best that PEOPLE has to offer, from captivating human interest stories to celebrity news, subscribe to their free daily email. Mr. Liddell told the publication, “There could be a lot more done than a couple of little signs that say ‘dangerous water,’” asserting that more should be done to save more people from dying at the waterfall. There was a lot of rain in the region on Saturday, according to Sky News Australia.
In addition to warning of “heavy currents, deep water, and submerged boulders,” a sign at Wappa Falls stated that “conditions here are unpredictable,” according to the outlet.
PEOPLE contacted Sunshine Beach State High School, Sunshine Coast Council, and Queensland Police, but none of them responded right away. To date, approximately $1,300 has been raised by a GoFundMe established to assist Beau’s family with the expenses of his funeral
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