Surfers recue elderly man at Dee Why lagoon in Sydney's Northern Beaches

A group of surfers on have been praised for their heroic actions after dramatically rescuing an elderly man who was being swept out to sea in wild weather.

The surfers were making the most of the swell by surfing floodwaters being released from Dee Why lagoon into Long Reef Beach, which happens regularly during periods of heavy rain

But amid the the fun, a man got caught by the water as he was trying to cross the lagoon.

Fabio Silvestre was the first to reach the man, but was unable on his own to stop him from being swept away.




Dramatic footage captured by a local drone surf photographer showed three more surfers then coming to the man's aid, but the wall of water was still pushing them all out of the lagoon.

'Everything happened super quick, we just got a wash out, we tried to keep his head up,' Mr Silvestre said.

Then another surfer joined in with the rescue and managed to offer the elderly man his hand and get him out and onto the sand.


The surfers in the initial rescue party also managed to pull themselves back to the safety of the dunes.

'He was in shock, he didn't say much, a bunch of the guys asked him if he was OK, did he take in water and he was just shaking his head,' Eugene Du Plessis, another surfer, said.

The surfers said the man did not say anything, but tried to go back into the water again to get across the lagoon before giving up and heading to the carpark.

His identity remains a mystery.


Locals said the lagoon is rarely as dangerous as it was on this occasion due to the wild weather.

'The water running out like the way it did, I've never seen it like that,' Mr Du Plessis said.

Though they he didn't know the rescued man, Mr Du Plessis would like to meet him again.

'Hopefully we see the guy down the beach again and we can have a beer and have a laugh about it.'

Mr Silvestre was very modest about his heroics, just saying: 'I'm glad we were there at the right time, and he went home.'