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AUSTRALIA-JAPAN-DEATH
Two Japanese students drown at Australia tourist hot spot
SYDNEY, March 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two 16-year-old Japanese students have
drowned while on a school tour at a popular tourist island in eastern
Australia, police said Saturday.
Emergency services launched a search and rescue operation near Lake
Mackenzie on World Heritage-listed Fraser Island off the Queensland state
coast late Friday after the boys were reported missing.
Police located the bodies in the water early Saturday morning.
“This is a tragic event, there is no doubt about that,” police inspector
Tony Clowes told reporters Saturday.
Clowes said there was nothing to immediately indicate suspicious
circumstances surrounding the drowning, but said more would be known as they
prepare a coroners report.
The public need to be aware of their swimming abilities before entering
Australian waters, Clowes added.
“Be aware that if you are entering water there is some inherent risk with
entering waterways in this country,” he said.
Clowes said families of the boys have been notified and authorities were
working with the Japanese consulate to provide support.
Fraser, the world’s largest sand island, is popular with tourists for its
beaches — and is also well-known for its dingoes.
Two of the wild animals were put down earlier this month after a French
mother and son were mauled by dingoes on the island.
It followed an attack in January when a six-year-old boy was mauled by the
native animal after as he ran up a dune on the island.
BSS/AFP/SSS/1054 hrs