Treacherous fishing ledge claims five

12.05.2010

The rock ledge from which five people

 

apparently fell and drowned on

the NSW central coast is a "treacherous"

and "unforgiving" fishing spot,

an angling safety expert says.

Stan Konstantaras, the national

safety officer for the Australian

National Sportsfishing Association

was responsible for installing life

buoys at the Flat Rock site, south of

Newcastle.

One of the buoys, known as angel

rings, was thrown into the water on

Sunday night when one of the group

was swept into the swell, police

believe.

By late yesterday, four bodies had

been recovered and police had scaled

down the search for the fifth person, a

woman, because of had weather.

The five people are Pofong "Phan"

Poon, 63, his wife Agnes, 61, and son

Dillon, 25, and Kin Leung "Dennis"

and Sau Ying Kwong Tin, 56 and 58,

respectively.

The victims are believed to be originally

from Hong Kong, who were living

in Sydney's north-west.

"I still can't fathom two elderly

couples down there fishing in the

dark," Mr Konstantaras said.

"It would have been cold, also.

That means to me, more clothing. You

go in (to the water) with a jacket and a

jumper, you're going to sink like a

stone. "

The group fished regularly at the

spot, but none of them is believed to

have been a strong swimmer. "The

spot is popular but treacherous, offering

good fishing, deep water, and it's

easily accessible from Sydney," Mr

Konstantaras said.

" It's a really rough, rocky and sloping

platform where the waves come up

and gather momentum on the rocks

and are just unforgiving."

In the past fortnight, a Korean man

from Hornsby died after being

washed into the waves near where the

group was fishing on Sunday, Mr

Konstantaras said.

But despite the "oversupply" of

angel rings in the area, the flotation

devices were not going to save lives if

the seas were too rough, he said.

"Angel rings are not the answer.

They are there as the last sort of lastditch

rescue policy - something to

throw to them once they're already in

the water," he said.

"The most important safety practice

is to remember: If it's too rough,

go home. There's always tomorrow. "