National Parks and Wildlife Service to review safety warnings after 71-year-old man drowns at Fingal Spit

The 71-year-old from Sydney drowned on Easter Sunday morning after he found himself in trouble at Fingal Spit when he was swept out while on a beach visit with family.

Lifeguards quickly responded to calls for help and the man was found floating in water nearby, but he could not be revived.

A young female relative of the man managed to get to safety after also finding herself in the water.

The man is believed to be at least the 17^th person to have died at the location.

A National Parks and Wildlife spokesperson said on Monday that the agency was working with Fingal Bay Surf Life Saving Club to implement additional measures, including two emergency response beacons near the spit, and "strengthening warning signage".

"Every drowning is a tragedy and NPWS is saddened by this news [of the man's death]," the spokesperson said.

"Visitor safety is a priority of NPWS. Existing water safety signage at Fingal Spit warns of strong current, dangerous tides, and that many people have drowned and swimming is not advised.

"NPWS will review the circumstances of this incident to see if anything else can be done to ensure people are aware of the risks in this area."

Port Stephens tourism identity Frank Future told the Herald on Monday said that during off-shore cruises he ran, he made his customers aware of the dangers of the spit.

Surf Life Saving Hunter duty officer Stephen Leahy said after the incident on Sunday the spit was "a well known notoriously dangerous location", where there had been many deaths, near misses and serious rescues over the years.

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