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New South Wales beaches have seen a mind-boggling amount of swell recently. For surfers, that has meant eye popping footage of big wave surfing at spots like Cape Solander and Deadman’s. However, the conditions have also come at a dear cost, as at least six people on Australia’s east coast died over the Easter weekend.
The run of swell started Friday, generated by a low pressure system in the Tasman Sea, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. On Friday, wave heights in Brisbane reached up to 25 feet, according to government data. Those conditions prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue hazardous surf warnings from Queensland to New South Wales. The warnings were eventually lifted on Sunday.
According to The New York Times, during that time five people died in New South Wales, and one in Victoria. In addition, another two people were missing. All six deaths were people who were believed to have been swept into the ocean while fishing or walking on rocks along the coast.
