A man has drowned at the unpatrolled stretch of Happy Valley beach – triggering warnings from Surf Life Saving Queensland to always swim between the flags.

Shortly after midday on Friday 25 October a 67-year-old man was pulled unconscious from the surf after being caught in a rip with his wife.

The woman was able to make it back to shore to raise the alarm and nearby lifeguards were on the scene within minutes, but the man had drowned before they were able to reach him.

He was not able to be revived.

Surf Lifesaving Queensland Sunshine Coast’s chief lifeguard, Trent Robinson, said the Happy Valley stretch was not a patrolled strip, but lifeguards did patrol both the nearby Kings Beach and Bulcock Beach.

“Unfortunately, this man has gone for a swim with his wife, they’ve been caught in a rip, she’s made it in, and he hasn’t,” Mr Robinson said.

“That new stretch there at Happy Valley is a beautiful place to walk with all of that sand, but when it comes time to swim, make that extra effort and walk the 300m to 400m to either Kings or Bulcock Beach and swim in between the red and yellow flags.

“The biggest issue in that area is visibility, with a lot of rocky outcrops and water moving over rocks moves a lot quicker than you expect.

“There is also the issue of cutting yourself on the rocks or hitting your head – it is not a swimming beach.”

The Aura Post recently covered a story about beachgoers ignoring the red “no swimming” signs along the Happy Valley stretch which is not classified as a “designated bathing reserve”.

Last summer, locals and holidaymakers were met with the strong presence of red flags and “danger” no swimming signs, but many chose to ignore the warnings.

Surf Life Saving Queensland Regional Operations Manager Aaron Purchase said the Happy Valley stretch between Kings and Bulcock Beach looked enticing, but was unlikely to have red and yellow flags anytime soon.

“Since the river bar has pretty well closed up and moved there is so much sand and it’s enticing for visitors,” Mr Purchase said.

“Due to uncertainty with what the bar is going to do and the current conditions there are no red and yellow flags or lifeguards patrolling that area.”

“We do have a lifeguard surveillance service there but that is not the same as a patrolled beach – this is an unpatrolled beach,” he said.

“We never encourage people to swim where we don’t have flags.”

Last season, 12 of the 13 drownings in Queensland took place outside patrolled areas or patrol hours, reinforcing the critical need to swim only between the flags.