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Updated ,first published
A large-scale search is under way after a 12-year-old boy disappeared off a rough surf beach in Victoria’s south-east.
The boy’s family last saw him swimming in water off the unpatrolled Number Four beach at Venus Bay in south Gippsland about 11.30am on Sunday, before emergency services were alerted to his disappearance 90 minutes later.
Police later identified him as 12-year-old Danny from Taylors Hill in Melbourne’s north-west. He was last seen wearing a navy blue rashie top and navy blue board shorts with a white stripe.
“His family lost sight of him and commenced a search, with assistance from members of the public,” police said.
Police have mounted a search for Danny with help from the police helicopter, water police, coast guard, State Emergency Service volunteers and members of the public. Ambulance Victoria paramedics are also on standby.
Danny is about 170 centimetres with a thin build, has short dark hair and dark eyes, police said.
“The search will continue until last light and recommence in the morning,” they said in a statement.
The Venus Bay Surf Life Saving Club’s championships were just wrapping up when the call about the boy’s disappearance came in, a club spokesman said.
Members patrol the Number One beach at Venus Bay during the summer months, and the club is about five to 10 minutes’ drive to Number Four beach.
“A number of people competing put on the red and yellow, and joined the patrol because they wanted to help the search,” the spokesman said. “It’s a pretty standard day. It’s a rough sea, the wind is coming from the south-west.
“Venus Bay is one of the roughest beaches in Victoria.”
The beach was packed with thousands of people on Sunday, the club spokesman said.
It was unclear whether the boy was swept out into the ocean, as police were also searching the sand and surrounding area for him.
A Melbourne science teacher drowned in the bay in January 2021 after trying to help a teenage girl who was struggling in the water.
Another man, in his 20s, drowned at Number Four beach in 2014. Local surf club members pulled him unresponsive from the water.
Life Saving Victoria encourages people to swim between red and yellow flags at patrolled beaches.
Police urged anyone who saw Danny to phone Wonthaggi police station.
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