A police officer has drowned after rescuing a teen caught in a rip at a popular beach on New Year’s Day.
The man was pulled unconscious from the water by lifesavers on Bogola Beach, near Narooma on the NSW far south coast, on Sunday afternoon.
Paramedics rushed to the scene and used CPR in a desperate attempt to revive the man, but he was pronounced at the scene.
The man, 45, has since been identified as a serving NSW Police officer, who was off-duty at the time and was holidaying in the area with his family.
A police officer drowned after he saved the life of a teenage boy caught in a rip at Bogola Beach (pictured) on Sunday
The hero off-duty officer, understood to be a sergeant, rushed into the water after a 14-year-old boy got stuck in a riptide.
The man rescued the teen but was then was dragged back out to sea moments later and drowned.
Local lifesavers rushed to the unpatrolled beach in an inflatable rescue boat in an desperate attempt to save the man, according to NSW Surf Lifesaving.
Police are expected to provide more details at a press conference in Nowra later on Monday.
Police launched an investigation and urged any witnesses to come forward.
Several Australians drowned during the Christmas and New Year holiday season.
The off-duty officer drowned while holidaying with his family on the NSW south coast