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God I hope he is OK, maybe came up somewhere nearby?
such a great loss, a young man already community minded... rarer and rarer nowdays.
we will also be praying for him, his families and friends.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012 » 08:51pm
LIVE: Breaking News
The search for a teenage surf life saving competitor missing on the Gold Coast has been suspended.
A search has been postponed for a teenager who has gone missing while competing in the Australian Surf Life Saving championships on the Gold Coast.
The young lifesaver, believed to be 15 years-old, is understood to have disappeared during a board event about 3.45pm (AEST) on Wednesday at Kurrawa.
The incident follows a tragedy that struck surf life saving two years ago, when 19-year-old Saxon Bird died during the same carnival at the same beach.
CEO of Surf Life Saving Australia, Brent Williamson, says the only details he can confirm are that the missing teenager was competing in the under-15 board events.
His name and club details are not being released at this stage.
'Our thoughts and prayers are obviously with the family, and the broader surf life saving membership,' Mr Williamson told reporters.
While he would not comment on whether an accident had occurred in the windswept and rough conditions, Mr Williamson said all details surrounding the boy's disappearance in the water were being studied.
'There are various reports coming in; all that will be collated and reviewed in due course,' he said.
Mr Williamson said conditions had been closely monitored through the day and a number of events had been modified, postponed or relocated to still-water venues.
'We believe everything possible was done to ensure the safety and fairness of the competition,' he said.
The decision to postpone the junior competition would be reviewed in due course.
'We are confident from a surf life saving perspective that all our risk-management systems and decision-making processes were very robust and in place,' he said.
'But that, no doubt, will be subject to external reviews.'
He said that while the surf was not ideal, the swell was not as large as it was two years ago when Saxon Bird died after an accident on the same beach.
'The information that we were looking at on a regular ongoing basis was that surf conditions were not large,' he said.
'Certainly the wind was up, hence the ongoing discussions about possibly relocating or modifying some of the events, particularly the surf boats.'
He said the swell through the day fluctuated between point eight of a metre to just over one metre.
Wednesday is the first day of official events for the carnival, which ends on Sunday.
More than 200 lifesavers, three rescue helicopters and more than 30 inflatable boats and jet skis will join the search when it resumes at first light on Thursday morning.
Police regional duty officer, Inspector Geoff Palmer, said after a fruitless search of more than three hours, grave fears are held for the missing teenager.
While the search has been called off the new Gold Coast police helicopter, which has night vision and infra-red search capabilities, will continue to sweep the beach for some time.
'All I can say at this time is that everything is being done that could be done,' Insp Palmer said.
He said the alert that a competitor had gone missing in the surf was given very quickly.
'Once police were notified the helicopters were over the scene in a short space of time,' he said.
Mr Williamson said minute-by-minute time breakdowns have been recorded on an official log.
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