Surf Life Saving WA issues warning as families descend on beaches for ChristmasCaleb RuncimanThe West AustralianWed, 24 December 2025 11:02AMEmail Caleb Runciman
WA beachgoers have been urged to swim between the flags this Christmas after more than a dozen drownings last summer and an “extreme” number of rescues last festive season.
Surf Life Saving WA issued the warning to swimmers before families rush to the coast on Christmas Day, when Perth is forecast to reach a sweltering 40C.
Scarborough Beach saw the most rescues performed by life savers last Christmas, topping the list with 24 rescues between December 24 and January 1, 2025.
That was followed by Trigg (15), City Beach (12), Esperance (6), Yanchep (3) and Secret Harbour (3).
And after a near-drowning at Trigg Beach on Tuesday night, which saw a 12-year-old girl pulled unresponsive from the water, warned families to ensure they follow the advice of surf life savers.
“We had an extreme number of rescues and the extreme number of drownings because people were choosing not to swim at patrolled beaches,” he said.
“Our message to you this Christmas is stop, look, stay alive and make sure that you follow the advice of the life savers,” he said.
“You choose a beach that has red and yellow flags and that you read the beach safety signage — it’s there for a reason.
“Don’t walk past it (the safety signage). It’s important information that can help you stay alive and be safe when the life savers aren’t around.”
The 12-year-old girl, who was pulled from Trigg Beach, remained in a critical condition in hospital on Wednesday afternoon.
Mr Peck said families should ensure they can identify a rip, as they are known to increase the chance of a drowning.
“Some of the things you can look at is where there’s deeper, greener water, means there’s probably a rip,” he said.
“Where there is sand flowing out to the sea, it means there’s probably a rip. Where there’s seaweed and things floating (out to sea) and there’s no waves, it means there’s probably a rip there.
“They’re basic things that people can observe with this information.”
Mr Peck said trying to stay calm was important to safely exit a rip and to reduce the risk of drowning.
“Because rips are the single most thing that’s involved in drownings, people panic, and the simple thing to do is… don’t panic, float and go with a rip”.
“It’ll generally take you back to the shoreline, or, if you’re capable, swim across parallel to the shore and then swim back into the shoreline.
“The rip isn’t going to take you miles out to sea.
“Signal for help (and) if possible, someone else can come and save you, or you’ll get yourself out. It’s the panic and the fatigue of swimming against that rip that causes the drowning.”
There were 13 coastal drownings deaths last summer, according to SLSWA.
Just over quarters of those victims were male, and and 46 per cent were people aged between 40-49 years-old.
Every single drowning, according to SLSWA, occurred at an unpatrolled location away from surf life savers.
Mr Peck said parents had a “really important role” in ensuring their children were supervised around the water.
“They need to be able to understand the conditions, they need to make sure that their child has capability to be in that environment, particularly when we’re talking about rips and surf,” he added.
“And most importantly, they need to make sure that they’re keeping watch on their child.”
Life savers will be stationed at popular beaches across the Perth metropolitan area and in parts of regional WA to monitor swimmers across the festive period.
The community is strongly urged to check whether life guards will be available at their beach by visiting http://www.mybeach.com.au/my-beach/.
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