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In April 2019, two Australian men — Andrew Powell, 32, and his father, Ross Powell, 71 — died while attempting to save a drowning Singaporean tourist in Victoria, Australia.

The Coroners Court of Victoria has now published the findings on the incident, which happened on Apr. 21, 2019.

The findings revealed that the tourist in question was a Singaporean named Sanjay Bhaskar.

What happened

On the day of the incident, Sanjay visited Sherbrook River with his friend Abhinash Pillai, who is also from Singapore.

Decided to go in the water despite warning signs

The pair had walked to the mouth of the river, passing multiple signs that had warned against swimming due to strong currents and large waves.

Despite this, Sanjay, who claimed he was a good swimmer, intended to take a dip in the ocean and then the river.

According to the findings report, Sanjay claimed to have stood on the beach for a while, before determining that the waves "did not appear dangerous".

Abhinash, however, described the waves as "more than two metres high".

Waves swept him away

Sanjay subsequently went into the water for about five minutes, but the water quickly became deeper, and waves began crashing over him.

He tried to swim back to shore but the waves kept pushing him out further to sea.

Sanjay then signalled to Abhinash for help. The findings report stated that he was eventually swept up to 100 metres offshore.

"He was pushed toward the cliff face and began swallowing seawater," the report stated.

Seeing his friend in danger, Abhinash telephoned emergency services for assistance, but the call was hampered by communication difficulties and him not knowing the location.

Fortunately, passers-by assisted with determining the exact location.

Multi-agency emergency response activated

Minutes later, a multi-agency emergency response was activated with Victoria Police, the State Emergency Service, and the Country Fire Authority being alerted.

Parks Victoria and the Port Campbell Life Saving Club were subsequently alerted informally.

The Powells were active volunteers and members of Port Campbell Life Saving Club.

They responded to the emergency call with Phillip Younis, captain of Port Campbell Country Fire Association and life member of the Port Campbell Surf Lifesaving Club.

The trio launched out on their rescue boat, which was called the Pelican.

Boat capsized

The findings revealed that the sea conditions were rough during their rescue attempt.

As a result, the Pelican suffered a "catastrophic fault", allowing a large wave to consume and capsize it.

The Powells and Younis were then thrown into the water.

Younis subsequently surfaced, but he found that both Powells were motionless and face down in the water.

"At no stage did Ross and Andrew Powell show any signs of regaining consciousness in the water," the findings report stated.

Couldn't rescue the Powells

Younis had suffered a fractured and dislocated pelvis when the boat capsized, so was unable to assist the Powells.

A short time later, the Ambulance Victoria Helicopter Emergency Service arrived and attempted to winch down to either Ross or Andrew Powell.

However, they aborted the attempt due to large waves.

They only managed to rescue Younis, who was airlifted to hospital.

Singaporean man managed to get rescued

As Younis was being rescued, the Pelican had miraculously drifted near Sanjay, who was able to grab hold of a line attached to it.

He also managed to grab a life jacket that was thrown to him by a Parks Victoria officer on top of a nearby cliff.

After more than an hour and 20 minutes in the water, Sanjay was rescued by helicopter, and was taken to hospital.

The findings report stated that Sanjay suffered "superficial injuries" from the incident.

As both Younis and Sanjay were being rescued, Ross and Andrew Powell remained motionless in the water.

Their bodies eventually drifted to a nearby cove where they were recovered.

No criminal charges pursued

No criminal charges have been pursued in this case, as stated in the findings report.

Victoria Deputy State Coroner Caitlin English, who reported the findings, said in her comments:

"Despite warning signs, [Sanjay], like many others who visit this country, entered the water.

While Australian-born beach users have the dangers and risks of swimming in unpatrolled beaches continually drilled into them from a young age, many tourists or new arrivals have no such knowledge or appreciation of how treacherous our waters can be.

They subsequently not only risk their own lives when entering the water, but they risk the lives of their rescuers."

Top image via Port Campbell Surf Life Saving Club/FB.