The woman’s children were rescued from the water off Froggies Beach, but life savers weren’t able to resuscitate her. Photo: Unsplash
According to reports out of the Gold Coast, a woman has died after she was caught in rough surf at Froggies Beach in Coolangatta on Sunday afternoon, just a stone’s throw from Snapper Rocks.
Froggies is a quiet little spot just past the famous surf break. A bright green frog is painted on the rock on the hill overlooking the beach. It’s a little more sheltered from the wind, and isn’t as crowded as some of the other nearby beaches, but it’s also not patrolled by life savers.
The woman has been identified as Sonya Knyf, a 51-year-old Redbank Plains resident and mother of two. Bystanders realized she was in trouble when they saw her struggling in the water, along with her children. A nearby group that was celebrating a gender reveal party leapt into action and were able to pull the children from the water. Their mother, however, wasn’t able to be saved, despite life savers’ best efforts to resuscitate her.
Witnesses told reporters that they watched as the family was pulled into the whitewash a little after 3:00 p.m.
“They had just been getting smashed up against the rocks,” one witness told 9News.
The members of the party ran into trouble themselves as they tried to rescue the children. Lifesavers pulled the good Samaritans from the water successfully, but by the time they reached the woman, it was too late.
