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A young girl has died after an incident at a beach in southern Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula on Tuesday evening.
The tragedy unfolded when two girls, aged 12, were swimming in waters near the seaside holiday hotspot of Ocean Grove before they “got into difficulty” about 6pm.
A civilian at the scene reportedly noticed the children and rushed into the water to assist them.
One of the girls was successfully rescued and brought back to the shore, but the State Emergency Service (SES) had to be summoned to extract the other.
Victoria Police said an aviation crew from Air Wing intervened and brought the 12-year-old to safety, following which paramedics attempt to resuscitate her through CPR.
However, she died at the scene.
Witnesses of the incident shared the harrowing ordeal on social media.
“Horrible scene unfolding at Ocean Grove beach over the past hour,” one wrote on Twitter. “Strength to loved ones and emergency services.”
Ambulance Victoria confirmed the surviving girl was transported to University Hospital in Geelong, about 22km away, along with another man in his 40s and woman in her 30s who were at the location.
The circumstances leading up to the tragedy are unknown, but no suspicious activity has been determined as of this stage.
Police will prepare a report for the coroner.
