A SURFER’S quick actions have saved two men caught in a rip at Wye River Beach on the Great Ocean Road.

The men, aged 25 and 36, were swimming while the beach was unpatrolled and in an area which would be outside the flags during patrolled time.

The Wye River Surf Lifesaving Club was hosting its club championships at the time, and lifesavers assisted in the rescue.

Lifesaver Justin McCallum said the men were lucky most of surf club members were on hand to help.

“A surfer was the first one on the scene which was really handy,” he said.

“He got one of the guys and the other one made it in on his own but wasn’t feeling too good.”

Mr McCallum said lifesavers gave the pair oxygen until ambulance paramedics arrived.

“We had so many active members and senior members who knew what they were doing within seconds,” he said.

Ambulance Victoria’s John Mullen said paramedics transported the pair to Lorne Hospital.

“They were both treated at the scene and then taken through in a stable condition,” he said.

Mr Mullen said the 36-year-old man fell unconscious for a couple of minutes, and paramedics airlifted him to Geelong Hospital “as a precaution”.

Wye River Surf Lifesaving Club president Debra Hocking said the two swimmers got into trouble just before patrols were due to start on Saturday afternoon.

“It is a notorious rip just where they were swimming,” she said.

Ms Hocking told the Colac Herald she was impressed with the actions of the lifesavers involved in the rescue.

“They acted in a team way and just jumped into it,” she said.

“It called on all their skills.”

Ms Hocking said lifesavers at Wye River had a busy summer with a higher than usual number of rescues.

“The sea’s been pretty tricky and there’s been a few nasty rips,” she said.

“There’s never a problem when the flags are up.”

Ms Hocking called for more public education on how to identify rips.

“New people are coming to beaches and they just don’t know about the rips,” she said.

Tags: Police and Emergencies, Swimming