Two British tourists drown near Great Barrier Reef
Two British tourists have drowned off the coast of a popular tourist town at the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef.
A boy, 17, and a man, 46, were swept out to sea on Sunday while swimming at a beach without lifeguards in Seventeen Seventy - a town in Queensland named for the year Captain James Cook arrived in Australia.
The pair were declared dead at the scene after being pulled from the water by a police rescue helicopter.
An Australian man is also in a life-threatening condition after being swept out to sea, and was airlifted to hospital with serious head injuries.
While police revealed that the deceased were from the UK, their names have not yet been released.
"Sunday's mission was a difficult one," CapRescue, the emergency rescue service that found the three men, shared on social media - adding that the deaths had occurred "despite the best efforts of all involved".
Police say the injured Australian man was from Monto, a town about 150 kilometres inland from Seventeen Seventy.
"We're not sure whether the third person jumped into the water trying to perform a rescue," Surf Life Saving Queensland's Darren Everard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
There is only one beach patrolled by lifeguards within a 50-kilometre radius of Seventeen Seventy.
Police are treating the drownings as non-suspicious and will prepare a report for the coroner.
One-hundred-and-seven people drowned in Australia last year, with 25% of them born overseas, according to Royal Life Saving Australia.
Australia's coastal fatalities mostly occur around creeks and headlands at high tide when "it's chaos in the water", Everard explained.
Speaking to ABC, he encouraged tourists to "seek local knowledge" and swim between the flags.
Relatives charged after boy killed in Australia shooting accident
Australia's looming election brings housing crisis into focus
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
I used an AI platform to plan my honeymoon. It was helpful, but won't be putting travel agents out of business anytime soon.
I used an AI platform called Mindtrip to help me plan my 12-day honeymoon in Australia. Mindtrip was great at helping me keep things organized during the planning process. However, I felt the platform wasn't as good at providing personalized recommendations for our trip. Planning a 12-day itinerary for an international honeymoon is not for the faint of heart. So, when I learned about Mindtrip — an AI-powered travel planning website that promises to deliver personalized experiences complete with photos, reviews, and maps — I had high hopes it could make the process easier for me. After using it to plan my Australian honeymoon, I found it was a good starting point, but there was plenty of room for improvement. The platform was helpful for keeping things organized To start planning my trip, I opened a new chat where I was prompted to "ask anything." I asked the AI chat function to create an itinerary for our trip to Australia, and shared our flight information, the hotels we had booked, and a few activities we'd already had planned. From there, Mindtrip began building out our trip within the chat. It created an itinerary, calendar, and list of bookings I'd already made. The trip itinerary was my favorite function, as it was helpful to see all our plans in one place, listed chronologically. I input a lot of our plans manually, but also used the chat to add items. However, I had a few instances where the itinerary didn't update correctly, leaving out activities or reservation details I'd listed. I probably could've created a similar itinerary in a spreadsheet or Google doc, but it was nice to have website links and information about each activity — like photos, ratings, and a summary — all in the same place. Another aspect I enjoyed was that Mindtrip allows you to add other people to your trip. This made it easy for my husband to access the plans and make changes to the itinerary. It was also helpful for staying on the same page throughout our honeymoon. I think this feature could be great for those planning group trips remotely, such as bachelorette trips or family vacations. However, Mindtrip wasn't as good at providing personalized recommendations In addition to the organization features, Mindtrip is designed to provide personalized recommendations for things like restaurants, museums, activities, and hotels. It does this by analyzing a quiz you submit through the chat. However, there were a few times the platform seemed to glitch and not have access to my quiz responses. Other times, it suggested things that were already on my itinerary, which I found to be frustrating. When the tool did work — or, when I directly asked for recommendations in the chat — I didn't think the responses felt very personalized. For example, it recommended many of the same five restaurants to me over and over, while missing other great options I found with my own research later. When reached for comment, a representative for Mindtrip explained that the duplicate suggestions may have been due to a glitch in the system, which has since been resolved. The representative also said the company is "continuing to work on ways to incorporate more personalization into the chat experience with or without the quiz." The platform was a helpful starting point, but I wouldn't rely on it to plan everything Although I found the platform to be fun to use and somewhat helpful, I'd consider it a starting point for planning a trip. During my planning process, I still referred to travel news sites for hotel recommendations, searched for restaurants on Google, and found influencer recommendations on TikTok and Instagram to build out my itinerary. To use Mindtrip to its fullest capacity, I think you have to dedicate a lot of time to inputting and perfecting your itinerary. I could see a Google doc being just as effective — just without the aesthetic benefit of Mindtrip's layout. I also think it would be nice for the platform to have an app, which would make using the itinerary in real time much more user-friendly.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
‘My £19,000 family holiday is in jeopardy because of the Home Office's ETA shambles'
I live in California and have dual UK-US nationality, as do my three teenagers. Me and my husband (who has dual Canadian-US citizenship) have been planning a month-long trip to see family in England for the first time since 2019. Our UK passports expired in 2017, so we booked the flights – and planned to travel – using our US passports (as required under US law). After doing so a few weeks ago, United Airlines informed us that we would need to apply for the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to visit the UK. No problem, we thought. One of the questions on the online ETA form asks applicants whether they hold dual nationality, however, and nowhere in the drop-down menu can you select 'British', nor is there anywhere to type it in. Therefore, unless I falsely claim to have only US citizenship, I cannot obtain one. Having booked the flights within a month of travel – we were awaiting confirmation of work commitments – we have no time to apply for new UK passports (it takes at least four weeks, we have been advised) or a Certificate of Entitlement (which takes up to eight weeks and costs £589 per person). I have spent around 30 hours calling the British Consulate and Embassy in the US, I've called the UK Visas and Immigration agency and used its ETA web chat multiple times, and I've spoken to United Airlines on several occasions. Yet all I'm getting is conflicting advice. While the Home Office website advises dual nationals that we should be allowed to board a plane to the UK without an ETA, I don't want to risk being turned away at Heathrow for either travelling without an ETA, withholding information on my ETA form, or possessing an expired passport. We feel devastated and defeated, with no choice but to cancel our travel to the UK. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip and we are faced with losing $26,000 (£19,200) in flights, car rental and accommodation and are left wondering why entry for British dual citizens is so much harder than for tourists. I also worry for myself – and others – what would happen if I needed to travel if a family member was sick or dying. - Mary, California I can well understand your frustration. The ETA scheme has been phased in since early January and it appears you are not the only ones to be baffled by the rules – many other dual British nationals are experiencing the same problem. Currently, the UK Home Office seems unable to provide a solution beyond the advice on its ETA Factsheet which states: 'We recommend that all British citizens travel on a valid British passport to avoid unnecessary delays at the border… As an alternative, British dual citizens can evidence their citizenship in another passport by obtaining a certificate of entitlement on However, with just 10 days to go before you travel, obtaining either a valid UK passport or a certificate of entitlement is, as you say, not an option. I spoke to the Home Office on your behalf and was advised verbally that you should be allowed to board a plane with an expired passport but there was no confirmation that your family would be allowed to enter the UK when you arrived at Heathrow. Of course, without an ETA, you are unable to simply use your US passport upon arriving in Britain as you did the last time you came here in 2019. The ETA factsheet goes on to state: 'We recognise that the introduction of the ETA is a substantial change for British dual citizens of ETA eligible nationalities. In the current transition period, we do not expect carriers to deny boarding to passengers who cannot produce a valid British passport or certificate of entitlement.' This would suggest you can enter the UK with your US passport and an expired UK passport, but the Home Office is unwilling to say so on record. Your airline, United, would not confirm to me that you will be allowed to board, and simply referred me back to when I contacted them on your behalf. Scouring blogs, social media forums and media coverage for expatriates in ETA-eligible countries, the situation is being described as 'a shambles' but it appears people facing this quandary are coming to the UK on expired passports or using an ETA and the valid passport they hold for the country where they now live, falsely claiming on the ETA form that they do not have dual citizenship. The latter option – lying on an immigration form – is risky and understandably not one we would condone nor that you wish to pursue, especially with teenagers in tow. There is one last option, and that is to apply for an Emergency Travel Document (ETD) for yourself and your three children. While ETDs are not designed for leisure travel, the Home Office told me verbally that if you have held valid UK passports since 2006 (and yours only expired in 2017), then there is no requirement to prove the reason for emergency travel. Applying for an ETD takes 48 hours and may involve an interview with the nearest embassy, but could provide the peace of mind you need to proceed with your desperately longed-for holiday. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Tom's Guide
4 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
How to watch the Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 on SBS (It's free)
You can watch the Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 live on SBS, streaming for free, until its conclusion on Sunday, 15 June. The stream includes English commentary as Tadej Pogacar looks to hold onto the Yellow Jersey in this busy warm up for the Tour de France. The Australian platform will show every twist and turn in what promises to be a thrilling week across Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel will have aspirations of hitting back on Stage 2 which promises to be a hilly day. Can you access SBS in the U.S., U.K. and Canada? Read on and we'll show you how to watch Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 live streams from anywhere with a VPN for FREE. Cycling fans in the Australia can watch the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné live for FREE on SBS on Demand. You can sign into SBS via Google, Facebook or Apple accounts. Simply provide your birth year and gender and watch for free! Not at home right now? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in Australia. We watched the opening stage and the coverage was superb. Although SBS is only available to Australian residents, those who are from Oz but visiting the likes of Australia, the U.S. and the U.K. can stream it through the use of VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software sets your devices to appear to be back in your home country regardless of where in the world you are. So, it's ideal for sports fans away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN. It's the best on the market: There's a good reason you've heard of NordVPN. We specialize in testing and reviewing VPN services and NordVPN is the one we rate best. It's outstanding at unblocking streaming services, it's fast and it has top-level security features too. With over 7,000 servers, across 110 countries, and at a great price too, it's easy to recommend. Get up to 70% off now! It is really easy to watch, here's how. Using a VPN is incredibly simple. 1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite. 2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance if you're in the U.S. and want to view an Australian service, you'd select Australia from the list. 3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to SBS or another streaming service and watch the action. SBS show full coverage of the action, with start times varying between 1:35 am and 2:35pm(AEST) each day on their standard SBS channel. Pundits include Matt Keenan and Bridie O'Donnell to give you all the insight you need on the action. Daily highlights are also provided if you have missed out on the day's ride as well as the action from last year if you want to reminisce about Primož Roglič's victory. Remember. Use NordVPN if you're outside Australia on vacation. Android phones and tablets (Android OS 5 and newer) Apple iPhones and iPads (iOS 12 or later) Chrome (latest two versions) Firefox (latest two versions) Safari (latest two versions) Mozilla (latest two versions) Apple TV (including Apple TV 4K and Apple TV HD) Amazon Fire TV Android TV Chromecast (including Chromecast with Google TV) LG Smart TV (webOS 4 or higher) Foxtel iQ Freeview Fetch TV (Gen 3 or newer) Roku (including Roku 2, Roku 3, Roku Express, Roku Express+, Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere+ , Roku Streaming Stick, Roku Streaming Stick+ and Roku Streambar) Hisense TV Mobile apps - download the 9Now app on your phone or tablet (iOS/Android). * - Time Trial Stage 2 | Monday June 9 | Premilhat-Issoire | 204.6km Stage 3 | Tuesday June 10 | Brioude-Charantonnay | 207.2km Stage 4 | Wednesday June 11 | Charmes-sur-Rhône-Saint-Péray | 17.4km*Stage 5 | Thursday June 12 | Saint-Priest-Mâcon | 183kmStage 6 | Friday June 13 | Valserhône-Combloux | 126.7kmStage 7 | Saturday June 14 | Grand-Aigueblanche-Valmeinier1800 | 131.6kmStage 8 | Sunday June 15 | Val-d'Arc-Plateau du Mont-Cenis | 133.3km We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
