Police on the Gold Coast are no longer hopeful of finding a Chinese tourist who is feared drowned in rough conditions.
The missing tourist was in the water with a group of five friends when Brazilian tourists alerted lifeguards to the group’s troubles.
Five made it back to shore with their assistance, the sixth has not been seen since. Lifeguards defended the decision to open the beach during rough conditions.
The drowning is the first on the Gold Coast this year and comes just weeks after lifeguards celebrated their first summer without a recorded drowning in a decade.
A teenager has been attacked by a dingo on Fraser Island. The dingo, one of three dogs which were harassing people, ripped the shorts off the 16-year-old girl, before being chased away.
The incident happened on the beach at Eurong, on the island’s eastern side. It is the second dingo attack at Eurong since September when a three-year-old girl was bitten on the back and buttocks by a dingo.
Eight years ago a nine-year-old was mauled to death at the popular tourist area of Waddy Point, north of Eurong. The attack has prompted a warnings from local authorities, especially as the Easter holidays coincide with dingo mating season.
“During mating season there is a much higher level of dingo activity,” says Rob Allan Regional Manager of Department of Environment and Resource Management (DERM), “which increases the chance people will come across the animals on the island.”
“Typically there is a higher level of inter and intra-pack aggression amongst dingoes during this time, as well as an increase in dominant, boisterous and nervous behaviour and more howling of a night.
“Dingoes are not like domestic dogs. They may appear shy and hungry but these are wild unpredictable animals – particularly during mating season.”
There are estimated to be around 150 dingoes on World Heritage-listed Fraser Island, although the population has been decreasing in recent years.
Visitors are warned to be cautious – it is illegal to feed them or attract their attention.
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