By Goya Dmytryshchak
Fifteen swimmers were rescued at Altona beach on Wednesday as wild winds whipped up waves and ripped beach tents from the sand, sending people running from the water.
Altona Life Saving Club president, Steve Schofield, said many more beachgoers needed assistance from lifesavers as the weather suddenly changed and a storm hit about 6pm.
“A number of people just got into trouble very quickly and we went through the process of a mass rescue which included the use of the IRB (inflatable rescue boat), boards and tubes,” he said.
“Because the wind change came so quickly, the waves came up a little bit and pushed people against the pier.
“There were also people who were out of their depth in quite calm water and then realised that they couldn’t touch the bottom and they just panicked.
“It was mainly panic that set in.
“The great thing is that there were no fatalities, there was no need for ambulance.”
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Peter Newham said wind speeds of 83kmh were recorded at Laverton at 5.43pm.
“Avalon, which is just a bit further along, gusted to 93kmh at 5.30pm,” he said.
“It got to 44 degrees at Laverton at 4.30pm.
“At 5pm it was still 43 and then by 6pm it had dropped to 32, so it dropped around 11 degrees quite quickly.”
Williamstown Swimming and Life Saving Club closed its pool for safety reasons when the sandstorm and storm front hit.
