Pinoy drowns off Aussie beach due to 'breakdown in communication'

A 27-year-old Filipino nurse who had been in Australia on a work visa for only three months drowned as he tried to save his floundering friend. The nurse, Genesis Hernandez, could have been rescued himself if not for a “breakdown in communication,” said a Monday report in the Australian Daily Telegraph. According to the report, Hernandez was swimming with five friends at Budgewoi Beach on December 29, Saturday, when they were caught in a rip current. An inspector at the scene said that Hernandez and two others tried to save their friend who could not get back to shore after being caught in the current. However, as the group swam back to land, they lost sight of Hernandez. Other beach-goers dragged Hernandez from the water and performed CPR until paramedics arrived at the scene, but the were unable to save him. The story noted that a "breakdown in communication" is being blamed for Hernandez’s death as lifesavers that were 800 meters away at Lakes Beach were “informally notified” 30 minutes after the first emergency call. “It was only when a family member of a surf lifesaver on patrol at Lakes Beach rang at 5.54pm that lifesavers were notified,” the story said. "Surf lifesavers were on the scene within minutes, however it was almost 30 minutes for them to be advised of the incident ... it's disheartening for the lifesavers not to be fully utilized,” Central Coast Surf Life Saving duty officer Darren Jameson said. The report added that Hernandez’s drowning in December was the third drowning in as many weeks in the country’s Central Coast. A 57-year-old man fell of a boat last December 27 while a 27-year-old woman died after being washed off rocks last December 12. — Gian C. Geronimo/DVM, GMA News