THE DEATH of a man at the Pass, Byron Bay and the near-drowning of a child in Brunswick Heads have marked the start of Byron Shire’s surf lifesaving season.
Police are investigating the discovery of a man’s body in the water at Byron Bay on Monday Sept 25.
Emergency service crews were called to the beach at around 8:30 am.
The body of the man, which has now been identified, was pulled from the water by lifesavers between The Pass and Watego’s Beach.
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But it is still not known what happened to the man and police are appealing to the public for help.
Meanwhile, a three-year-old girl is in a stable condition after being pulled unconscious from the water at Brunswick Heads on Saturday afternoon.
The girl was found floating face-down in the Brunswick River.
Witness Sarah Ndiaye said she was on a boat near where the girl was found.
“I heard a friend of mine’s daughter call out from the shore that a girl had drowned and to get help, so I called triple 0,” she said.
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“My daughter, who has her first aid and bronze medallion, swam over, and my friend who has his CPR went over as well.
“A number of people stepped in to do CPR.
“It had been about four minutes [that she’d been unconscious].”
Ms Ndiaye praised the actions of those who helped.
“You just keep hoping she’s OK, and then there’s that feeling of collective relief as we heard her cry out and she did take a breath,” she said.
Story by Samantha Turnbull, Bruce MacKenzie and Joanne Shoebridge • ABC News.