The New Year has commenced tragically for New South Wales beaches, with three individuals having drowned and two others still unaccounted for amid treacherous conditions.

Today, hazardous weather led to the closure of 68 beaches across the state, including several in Sydney, as authorities warned against entering the perilous waters.

Amidst these warnings, two ocean search operations have been launched, and three tragic drownings have occurred within just 36 hours, prompting urgent calls for revelers to avoid the sea.

Emergency response teams were summoned to Coogee Beach shortly after 6 a.m. following reports of a group experiencing distress in the turbulent surf.

In a swift rescue operation, two individuals caught in a rip current were brought to safety, aided by a police officer who bravely entered the water to help. However, a third individual, a man believed to be in his 20s, remains missing.

A third person, a man believed to be aged in his 20s, is yet to be located.

Police, Marine Area Command, NSW Ambulance, Surf Life Saving NSW and Randwick City Council were helping search for the man.

Coogee Surf Life Saving Club was conducting roving patrols throughout the day after the search was called off at 11am when choppy surf, currents and rips, rain, and wind conditions intensified.

The search for the man will resume tomorrow, police said.

Earlier this morning, police recovered a body after a Chinese tourist was swept into the ocean in Maroubra.

About 4am, emergency services were called to Maroubra Beach on Marine Parade.

They were told a 25-year-old woman had been knocked into a tidal rock pool by a wave and then dragged into the ocean.

Police searched the waters for about an hour before finding a body about 5am.

Her family was informed of her death, as police prepared a report for the coroner.

On the Mid North Coast, a 45-year-old woman was rescued from the water by members of the public at Dunbogan Beach just before 3pm today.

The rescuers began CPR on the woman, but she was declared dead at the scene.

At North Palm Beach, a search continued today for a 14-year-old boy missing after a boat overturned on New Year’s Eve. A man died in the incident and another was rescued from rocks.

Surge of rescues across NSW

Surf Life Saving NSW chief executive Steve Pearce said there had been a surge in rescues up and down the coast in recent days.

A number of the rescues involved groups of children.

One swimmer is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after getting into trouble at Avoca Beach on New Year’s Eve afternoon.

He was rescued and resuscitated by two members of the public.

“He was body surfing, he had all the equipment on, he had wetsuits on, he had fins on, he had a leash,” Avoca Beach Surf Club’s Stuart Harvey said.

“The leash probably saved his life because it washed him to the beach.”

A mass rescue at Narrawallee Inlet near Mollymook saw four tourists from the ACT rescued after they were swept into the ocean just after midday on New Year’s Day.

A 15-year-old, 24-year-old and 40-year-old were helped to shore by surfers and taken to hospital. A 51-year-old woman was airlifted to hospital.

At Shoal Bay in the Hunter, a 42-year-old man was pulled unconscious from the water by members of the public at the jetty after jumping off head-first. He was airlifted to hospital.

From Christmas to December 30, lifesavers in NSW carried out 85 rescues, 419 provisions of first aid, and more than 40,000 preventative actions.

“This spate of drownings and rescues have caught everyone off guard over the new year’s period,” Pearce said.

“We are pleading for people – do not enter the water today, if that beach is closed.”

Randwick Council notified residents and visitors that all its beaches had closed today due to the conditions, which included large and powerful surf.

People should avoid swimming, rock fishing and all other coastal activities.

The closed beaches include Coogee, Maroubra, Clovelly, Little Bay and Malabar beaches.