Two people have died after drowning incidents on northern NSW beaches over the weekend.
A woman died after she was pulled from the water at a Coffs Harbour beach on Sunday evening, while a 14-year-old boy drowned after getting into trouble off Flynns Beach in Port Macquarie.
The woman and her family of five had been swimming at unpatrolled Diggers Beach about 5.40pm when they all got into trouble in a strong current.
Bystanders were able to get the family back to shore but the 49-year-old woman, an Australian national who had been living in the UK, then lost consciousness.
Police and family tried to resuscitate the woman on the beach, but she was later pronounced dead at hospital.
A post-mortem would be done to determine her cause of death, a police spokeswoman said.
On Monday in Port Macquarie, the search resumed at first light for the body of a boy who drowned on Saturday.
Bronson Rhodes had been swimming with two friends at Flynns Beach when they got into difficulty, Inspector Guy Flaherty from Mid North Coast Local Area Command told Port Macquarie News.
"Patrolling surf life savers managed to reach two of the swimmers and they were brought to safety," the inspector said. "Unfortunately, a third swimmer, could not be reached."
Teams from Marine Rescue, Surf Life Savers, Water Police and SES joined the search for Bronson on Saturday, and the NSW Ambulance and Westpac Rescue Lifesaver helicopters also took part.
While his body was spotted about 5.30pm on Saturday, rough conditions meant it could not be retrieved and the search continued on Sunday.
Family friend Blade Hogan posted a tribute to Bronson on Facebook.
"I'm still struggling to believe it's real you were a brave young man with a huge heart," he said.
"You were very loved by many and will be dearly missed by so many people that loved and cared about you so much."
Bronson, a member of the local junior rugby league community, was remembered by other friends as a "sporty kid who loved being active".
The Flynns Beach headland was crowded for most of Sunday as family, friends and locals watched emergency services attempt retrieve the young boy's body from the surf.
"We have known the family for a while now and our son played sport with him, so we wanted to come down and pay our respects," one person, who did not want to be named, told Port Macquarie News.
"It is awful what happened.
"Two young boys drowning on our beaches in two weeks, is simply tragic," the onlooker said.
On December 6, an 11-year-old boy drowned off another Port Macquarie beach.
The ACT boy was swept into the sea off Lighthouse Beach after he was caught in a rip. His 17-year-old brother tried to rescue him, but after days of searching the recovery effort was called off.
