Tributes to Brit father & son, 17, who drowned off Great Barrier Reef after getting swept out to sea on holiday
TWO Brit tourists who drowned after being swept out to sea in Australia have been named.
Tragic Robin Reed, 46, and his son Owen Reed, 17, died while swimming without lifeguard supervision on April 13 near the Great Barrier reef.
They were pulled from the water in Queensland, near the town of Seventeen Seventy, but unfortunately could not be saved.
Tributes have now poured in for the tragic parent and child.
The dad and son, from Caerphilly in south Wales, were recovered from the sea with a police helicopter before being pronounced dead at the scene.
Emergency services raced to Round Hill Head in Seventeen Seventy near at 2.17pm after the trio, believed to be holidaying with family, got into trouble in the surf on April 13.
The service said following their effort: “Sunday’s mission was a difficult one.
“Despite the best efforts of all involved, two people tragically lost their lives.”
A third Australian man, 37, was airlifted to Bundaberg Hospital with serious head injuries following the horrific accident – but miraculously survived.
The local coroners’ court said they were still looking into the two Brits’ deaths.
They said that the colonial instantiations into their deaths were still in “initial stages”.
Police said the deaths were not being treated as suspicious.
Following the horrific accident, a spokesperson for the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told The Sun that they were “supporting the family of two British nationals” who died in Australia.
They added that they were “in contact with the local authorities”.
More than £4,000 has since been raised to support the mother and wife of the two via a GoFundMe page set up by a family friend.
Pal Anmarie Thomas said: “One of our lovely friends is going through an awful time, having lost both her son and husband in an unexpected accident whilst on holiday.”
She added that the mourning wife was “going through the ordeal of being miles from home whilst coming to terms with these two awful losses”.
Local Welsh football team Treowen Stars FC paid tribute to the pair on social media.
They said: “Awful, awful news about Robin Reed and his son Owen.
“Our thoughts and deepest condolences with Robin and Owen’s family and friends.”
Caerphilly county councillor Carl Thomas said that their “whole community is in shock”.
He also paid tribute and offered his condolences to the grieving family.
According to Royal Life Saving Australia, 107 people drowned in Queensland country last year, with one in four victims born overseas.
It comes after a nine-year-old boy tragically drowned in front of his horrified parents after getting trapped between two rocks at a busy beach.
Witnesses recalled the harrowing moment the young lad’s parents held his hand as he died at a popular beach in New South Wales, Australia.