A woman has drowned at a beach on the NSW South Coast just days before Christmas.
The 66-year-old woman was pulled from the surf unconscious at Werri Beach near Gerringong, around 130km south of Sydney, at 9am on Saturday.
Members of the local surf club and public attended to the woman before paramedics took over but she could not be revived and died at the scene.
The area of Werri Beach where the woman was swimming was not patrolled.
Officers from Lake Illawarra Police District also attended the scene.
A report will be prepared for the coroner.
The woman’s death comes as holidaymakers flock to the NSW South Coast for their summer holidays.
Gerringong locals took to social media on Saturday to express their condolences to the woman’s family.
The 66-year-old woman drowned at Werri Beach (pictured) near Gerringong, around 130km south of Sydney, at 9am on Saturday
‘So sad, saw lots of emergency vehicles on our way to the Gerringong Christmas Parade,’ said one.
‘So sad for the family right on Christmas,’ said another.
Werri Beach is one of the top attractions in Gerringong, a town of 4000, famous for its spectacular coastline.
It is a popular beach for surfing, fishing and swimming with a rock pool at one end and the southern point of the Kiama Coastal Walk at the other.
Earlier this year Yuliya Pashkovska, 43, died at Pebbly Beach near Batemans Bay.
Ms Pashkovska, a nurse at Wollongong Hospital, was caught in a rip at about 1pm on March 19.
Two surfers pulled the nurse from the water and dragged her onto their boards.
They began CPR on Ms Pashkovska, before she was winched to shore by the Westpac helicopter.
She sadly could not be revived.
